Working Families in Atlanta To Protest Food Service Giant Sodexo's Employment Practices

Workers from around the U.S. and local activists Rally against workplace discrimination and low wages

ATLANTA, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Scores of Atlanta workers and their families will be joined by Sodexo workers from around the country Thursday for a march and town hall meeting to press the French-owned global company -- which in Atlanta has 95% of the contracted food service market in higher ed based on enrollment  -- to provide good jobs to help build a better Atlanta.

Rally participants will march to Morehouse College and Clark University where they will deliver a letter to the Sodexo executive on campus. The letter will be delivered during a mandatory meeting of the workers called by Sodexo after workers and community leaders announced the town hall meeting and rally. The march begins at 4 p.m. at Mt. Moriah Church, 200 Joseph Lowery Blvd SW, Atlanta, GA.  

Following the rally and march, participants will gather again at Mt. Moriah Church  at 6 p.m. for a town hall meeting with a panel of elected officials. Sodexo food service workers will tell personal stories of degrading and discriminatory treatment they face on the job. Community leaders, labor activists and college students will also be in attendance. The event is sponsored by the Georgia Coalition for the Peoples' Agenda, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and its affiliate, Workers United.

WHO: Avery Bizzell, Student, Morehouse College

Helen Butler, Executive Director, Georgia Coalition for the Peoples' Agenda

State Senator Vincent Fort, District 39

Reverend Roy Johnson, Springfield Baptist Church

State Senator Nan Orrock, District 36

Kathrina Sheets, Sodexo worker, Morehouse College

George Spivey, Sodexo worker, Georgia Tech

Roger Sykes, Student, Emory University

State Representative Rashad Taylor, District 55

Rubynell Walker Barbee, Sodexo worker, Morehouse College

City Councilmember Ivory Young, District 3

WHAT: March and Town Hall meeting to protest unfair labor practices of Sodexo

WHEN: 4 pm ET (rally & march)

6 pm ET (Town hall meeting)

WHERE: Begins and ends at Mount Moriah Church

200 Joseph Lowery Blvd SW

Atlanta, GA  

Sodexo worker stories:

Kathrina Sheets, Sodexo worker, Morehouse College

Ms. Sheets is a single mother and works for Sodexo at Morehouse College. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor last year, but cannot afford the health insurance Sodexo offers because it's too expensive for the wage she earns. Her 17-year-old daughter has a heart condition, but again, Ms. Sheets cannot afford to buy health insurance. Although employed, Ms. Sheets relies on food stamps.

George Spivey, Sodexo worker, Georgia Tech

George Spivey, a food service worker at Georgia Tech, has held management positions at other food service companies and worked at Sodexo for three years. He witnessed a general manager refer to African American workers as "monkeys."  George filed a complaint with human resources regarding the discriminatory remarks. The manager was later moved from the account, but that person is still in a management position at a nearby university in Atlanta.

Rubynell Walker Barbee, Sodexo worker, Morehouse College

Rubynell Walker Barbee, an African American woman, worked as a catering sales coordinator at Morehouse College for 18 months. She liked the work. Unfortunately, one of her managers, the executive chef, behaved inappropriately. On one occasion he pulled down his pants.  Ms. Walker Barbee reported the manager's behavior, but her complaint was not taken seriously. In November 2009, she was laid off without an explanation. She returned in January to a different position.

SOURCE Service Employees International Union