June 27, 2001
(Oshkosh). Two UW Oshkosh food service employees were seen carrying picket signs today outside of Scott Residence Hall on the campus. The signs said "Sodexho Hire Us All!" and "Chancellor Wells Save Us!"
In a competitive bidding process, UW Oshkosh recently decided to drop Chartwells (the company that had been providing food service on the campus for more than 20 years) in favor of Sodexho. Members of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees (HERE) Union immediately launched a protest, demanding that Sodexho respect the terms of the collective bargaining agreement in place between Chartwells and the current employees.
Sodexho last week interviewed almost all current employees, but they have made no commitment to hire everyone back. UW Oshkosh Chancellor Richard Wells has received hundreds of e-mails in support of the workers, and at the same time he has had extended conversations with representatives of HERE and Sodexho.