News-Letter

Media Credit: Shiv Gandhi [Click to enlarge]

Aramark and the union that represents more than 100 of its employees have reached a contractual agreement after months of stalled talks that left most dining workers without health insurance and other necessities.

"We are pleased to have reached an agreement that works for everyone, and we will continue to focus on delivering excellent service to the Johns Hopkins University community," said Julie Scharlé, a public relations manager for Aramark.

Local Unite HERE (Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees) union organizer Alyson Harkin declined to comment on the nature of the agreement. The Baltimore chapter, known as Local 7, has been involved in contract negotiations with Aramark since the beginning of the school year.

Several employees — all of whom requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations — expressed uncertainty as to what had transpired during the talks.

"I work during the nights, so I miss out on the meetings they have during the day," one Fresh Food Café employee said. "I'm just going to sit back and wait for [union head Gladys Burrell] to give us the okay."

"All I know is that they said they reached an agreement," said one dining worker who has worked in Fresh Food Café for six months. He also said that the issue of workers' rights is still up in the air. "Right now, as far as I know, Aramark is looking into it."

The lack of contracts or any agreements have left Hopkins workers without health care. One Charles Street Market employee noted that workers have been without health care for a year.

According to a dining employee who works at Charles Street Market, Aramark has left some employees "less pleased" than they were under Sodexho, the previous food service provider. "The benefits are totally worse. They don't know how to treat their employees," the worker said.

She began work at Charles Street Market, where she has felt disrespected by the Aramark management. "They say the day cashiers are more courteous than the evening cashiers. We bend over backwards." She also noted that employees must call in a day ahead of time if they are sick. Workers are penalized if they call in the day of their illness to request that time off.

"They don't treat us with courtesy," the employee said, who has over 15 years of experience as a Hopkins dining employee. She cited how Aramark treated cashiers at Charles Street Market who requested chairs to sit in as they handled student transactions, saying that "they gave us the chairs, but if we sit in the chairs, they'll take them."

Some employees, however, expressed satisfaction with Aramark. "[Aramark is] nice to work with. I have no complaints," a Fresh Food Café employee said.

Previously, some employees claimed that Aramark had been cutting work hours of older employees in an attempt to oust them and bring in new employees. The cashier, however, has seen an increase in work hours.

"I get more hours. Over in Levering I got 20 hours per week. Now, I'm up to 37 and a half."

"I'm very pleased with the way the change went. I'm very happy with the service," sophomore Robert Dewan said. "I think students treat Aramark employees very well. If the workers are unhappy, then the Hopkins administration should help out and try to enact a better policy." Hopkins dining services are not involved with the creation and settlement of contracts because the employees are hired via Aramark and not the school.

Unite HERE counts Aramark among its top employers. The union represents more than 850,000 current and former workers across North America. In 2003 the union was involved in the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride.

Aramark did not respond to inquiries about specific grievances.

— Katlyn Torgerson contributed to this article.

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