York fast-food workers boiling for respect in the workplace

Alex Kvaskov | News Editor

Featured image: Aramark has provided food services at the Keele and Glendon campuses since 2008, including the Central Square and Stong cafeterias. | Michael Zusev

Food service workers at York are organizing for better wages and respect in the workplace. Workers hired by Aramark, a services provider that operates a number of food outlets at York’s Keele campus, have expressed concerns about their employment with the provider.

“The level of respect people are treated with by management is very low. People are spoken to and instructed like if they are little kids, like if they are inferior to managers or we don’t know our jobs even though we have been here for years,” says Melissa Sobers, an organizer with UNITE HERE Local 75, the union representing Aramark staff.

Sobers says workers have heard management openly discussing union busting, making racist statements and allegedly undermining the union contract by trying to avoid paying workers off on sick days.

“Not to mention the low wages they expect people to live off of when we have families to take care of, and getting none of the benefits that other university workers receive, despite working on the same campus as them and serving the same students,” adds Sobers.

“We want to be treated as human beings, with respect and dignity when we come to work, not like we are being walked on and just exploited. We also want them to stop being so cheap and pay people fairly for the amount of work we do. These jobs are not easy on us; we deserve much better.”

But change has been slow to come. While management has urged workers to go through the grievance process and attend labour-management meetings, it has continued to act the same way despite these attempts from workers, according to Sobers.

In an emailed statement to Excalibur, Aramark Vice-President, Corporate Communications, Karen Cutler says Aramark considers labour negotiations to be private.

Aramark operates everywhere with the highest regard for its pool of over 250,000 employees, according to Cutler. “That includes treating everyone with dignity and respect and maintaining full compliance with labour agreements,” she adds.

“During union contract negotiations and in general, if any concerns are raised, we have an ongoing dialogue with labour leaders to resolve them and respect the privacy of those discussions,” she says.

“Aramark is proud of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, and has long been recognized as an employer of choice by Black Enterprise, DiversityInc, Latino Magazine and the Human Rights Campaign, to name a few,” Cutler notes.

York spokesperson Barbara Joy says York works closely with vendors to help ensure they meet the community’s expectations and are aligned with the university’s values. York has not been informed of any issues with Aramark, according to Joy.

“Aramark is responsible for all aspects of employment and labour relations in connection with its workforce, and we expect all suppliers comply with applicable laws, including the Employment Standards Act and the Ontario Human Rights Code,” says Joy.

Aramark’s employees are unionized and have avenues available to them if they experience issues in their workplace, notes Joy.

This is not the first time concerns have been raised about Aramark facilities on campus. Last year, the Glendon College Student Union circulated an open letter, claiming poor service at Aramark facilities at Glendon campus.