Sodexo dining hall managers met with employees throughout the day on Thursday, April 28 to announce that starting September 1, all workers will be paid the living wage. This affects 40 dining hall workers who are currently earning less than $11.11 an hour, the living wage for Tompkins County. Managers also announced that 80 other employees would receive wage increases as well.
In an Intercom post published 4/28/11, Ithaca College president Tom Rochon responded to the announcement :
We are proud to partner with Sodexo, which for the past 11 years has provided outstanding service to the campus community and has now stepped up to the plate to meet our request to provide a living wage to its employees at the college. … Together, we have responded to the questions and concerns raised by members of the campus and local communities with a genuine expression of our commitment to our shared values.
This news comes after the Labor Initiative in Promoting Solidarity’s year-long campaign to reform Sodexo’s practices at Ithaca College, with an emphasis on paying all workers the living wage.
Buzzsaw first wrote about Sodexo’s practice of paying below the living wage in April 2010. Read that exposé, “A Raw Look at Sodexo,” as well as subsequent updates published in May 2010, October 2010, December 2010 and April 2011. And check out a series of videos from LIPS’ week of action, produced by Buzzsaw magazine’s Seesaw.
Alyssa Figueroa is a junior journalism and politics major and a member of the Labor Initiative in Promoting Solidarity. Email her at [email protected].
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