Unprecedented Union Coalition Across Five Countries Takes on 21st Largest Employer

Colombia, Morocco, and U.S. Delegations Pledge to Raise Concerns at Sodexo's Shareholders' Meeting in France

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In an unprecedented, coordinated ground campaign by unions in five countries, delegations of workers, union leaders and human rights activists blitzed Sodexo's offices, clients, and government ministries in the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Morocco, Brazil and the United States to raise awareness about the world's 21st largest employer's labor rights abuses and violations of human rights.

This coalition of unions has aligned ground efforts to secure the right of Sodexo employees around the globe to exercise the freedom to form a union without fear of oppression. Participating in this coordinated day of action is CUT in Brazil, SEIU in the United States, SINALTRAINAL in Colombia, ODT in Morocco, and Fentiabehta in the Dominican Republic.

"Sodexo in Morocco does not respect the terms of the Labor Code and international laws regarding employment," said Said Nafi, President of Morocco Observatory Workplace Rights. "We stand in solidarity with the global effort to change working conditions in Sodexo and will do everything in our capacity to raise attention to the situation nationally and internationally."

In the United States, workers and supporters in ten cities are taking actions including in New Orleans which is featured in the report.

"We have asked Sodexo to respect our rights, but their response has been to try to intimidate us and stop us from talking about organizing for change," said Delisa Taylor, a Sodexo worker at Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana.  "We need to show Sodexo that they can't scare us."

Actions today come on the eve of a teleconference with actor and activist Danny Glover and leading human rights organizations—including The Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights (LCCR) and Human Rights Watch—announcing the findings of a new report by TransAfrica Forum, "Voices for Change: Sodexo Workers From Five Countries Speak Out."

SOURCE SEIU