Has everyone gone stupid? The accusations against Sodexo are ridiculous.
Don’t know what I’m talking about? Don’t worry; I have no intention of leaving you uninformed.
As of late, Sodexo workers have been circulating around campus attempting to convince students, faculty, other staff, and basically whoever they can get to listen, that Sodexo managers are tyrants, that the work conditions are horrible and unsafe and that the pay is meager.
Since when have college students—no, since when has anyone believed something so readily? It’s atrocious.
So here’s the truth. Oh, and by the way, I’ve actually worked at both the Johnson Center food court and the Southside dining hall, so as a student I know what goes on behind the scenes.
First of all, the managers are actually sweethearts.
However, just because they’re sweethearts does not mean they won’t enforce company policy when needed. Some of the components of company policy include coaching forms, and direct meetings with managers.
When an employee is not following Sodexo safety precautions – for example, using cut gloves while operating sharp objects and/or machinery, wearing non-skid shoes to prevent slips and falls, or acting inappropriately with other employees or customers – the manager speaks with the employee.
An additional employee – usually a supervisor – is on hand to ensure that the manager is being as professional as can be when speaking with the employee being disciplined.
If the same employee repeats the same act of misconduct, then the manager reserves the right to give the employee a coaching form, which is a repeat of the previous conversation. However this time it’s documented.
From what employees have told me, they hate getting coachings. However, if they followed the policies, they wouldn’t get a coaching form in the first place.
The policies are in place to keep the employees safe and to ensure a safe and stable work environment.
In regards to pay, the starting salary is $8.50, but the average employee, I would say, makes about $16 an hour.
When an employee starts off, it is made very clear that there are many opportunities to advance the ranks and therefore increase their pay. It seems to me that the employees want more money, but they don’t want to work for it.
Don’t get me wrong. I know the Sodexo employees work hard; we can all see that.
However, there are ways to go about getting a raise that do not include tarnishing Sodexo’s reputation.
In regards to the injuries that Sodexo employees are claiming to have, it is true, they did get injured on the job.
However, it is because they did not follow Sodexo’s safety procedures. Sodexo managers are constantly implementing new ways and incentives to promote safety, but if an employee refuses to follow the rules, what can Sodexo do? Fire them?
No, because then they’re still painted as the monsters and even if they weren’t painted as monsters, firing an employee is no quick process.
It’s not the accusations against Sodexo that peeve me, it’s the fact that people are so willing to believe the accusations. I’ve done my research and I’ve discovered that the day before the big “Sodexo walkout” last spring at George Mason University, the president of The Service Employees International Union resigned.
The union needs a big time account like Sodexo to keep it afloat.
They’re about to go bankrupt! They are promising the employees things that they will not be able to give them.
Like Siddhartha Guatama once said “Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.”
So please, do yourselves a favor and do a little research on the matter before you ride the band wagon right off a cliff.
The author of this article is a Sodexo employee.
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