Labor Union

Who we are
Sodexo, Inc. employs more than 120,000 people at 10,000 locations across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Our high standards of quality and service have earned us the trust, respect and confidence of our 120,000 employees, our 6,000 clients, and the millions of people whose lives we touch each day throughout North America.

Sodexo is pro-employee

• Our mission is to improve the quality of daily life through our core values of service spirit, team spirit, and spirit of progress.

• We are committed to treating all employees with respect and fairness. We provide a positive work environment for all our employees, offering wages and benefits that are usually equal to or above our competitors.

• Our culture is based on respect and the highest moral and ethical standards, and we are committed to being a leader in the areas of diversity and inclusion and corporate responsibility.

• We have the highest safety standards in our industry and enjoy one of the strongest safety records as a result.

Our position on our employees' right to join a labor union
Sodexo recognizes and respects the rights of our employees to unionize, or not to unionize, as they choose. We will not discriminate against any employee for engaging in union organizing activities or otherwise supporting a union. Where we have collective bargaining agreements we abide by and follow the terms of those agreements.

Sodexo's relationship with labor unions
Sodexo has collective bargaining agreements with nearly every major union in the U.S. and Canada - totaling nearly 300 contracts. These partnerships are strong in part because of our excellent track record of engaging in good faith negotiations in a timely manner when employees have voted to unionize. Approximately 13% of our workforce is unionized, which is on par with our industry.

Partnering with unions to benefit our workers
Sodexo also has a history of partnering with unions to directly benefit our employees and the communities we serve. To cite just two examples:

• In the Providence, RI School District, Sodexo and the Laborers International Union Local 226 partnered to create a special educational program enabling employees to complete an associates, bachelor or master's degree program.

• Sodexo was instrumental in helping to end a 10-year boycott against NORPAC, an Oregon food growing consortium that was being conducted by a labor organization representing farm workers in that state. As a result of Sodexo's involvement, the boycott was lifted and an agreement was reached that benefited the farm workers and family-owned farms which largely comprise NORPAC.

Supporting our employees' right to decide for or against unionization
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent Federal agency established to enforce the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). As an independent agency, they are not part of any other government agency-such as the Department of Labor. The NLRB currently recognizes two permissible methods for union certification: secret ballot election and card check.

• Congress has empowered the NLRB to conduct secret-ballot elections so employees may exercise a free choice whether a union should represent them for bargaining purposes. A secret-ballot election will be conducted only when a petition requesting an election is filed. In a secret ballot election, employees vote in the privacy of a voting booth after a "campaign" period that is regulated by the NLRB. If a majority of the ballots cast support the union, then the employer is obligated to recognize the union as the collective bargaining representative for the entire unit.

• A second method is known as "card check" recognition. Through card check, the employer recognizes the Union as the bargaining agent of the employees once a third party verifies that a majority of the entire group of employees has signed union authorization cards.

The decision whether or not to unionize is an important one. In the absence of clearly agreed upon standards governing card check, Sodexo believes that the NLRB's secret ballot process provides employees with the best opportunity to make a free and informed decision regarding union representation. The NLRB secret ballot process ensures that all employees have the chance to vote their conscience in privacy without fear of outside pressure or intimidation and Sodexo will continue to honor the results of NLRB elections.

In situations where card check may be appropriate for determining whether or not employees wish to organize, Sodexo will work to ensure that the process is conducted in an atmosphere free of harassment, intimidation or coercion, and that the rights of all our employees are safeguarded.

Sodexo has contracts with the following unions:

IUOE  International Union of Operating Engineers
IBT International Brotherhood of Teamsters
HERE  Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union
UFCW  United Food and Commercial Workers
SEIU  Service Employees International Union
RWDSU Retail Workers Union
LIUNA  Laborer's International Union of North America
IBU  International Boatmen's Union
PTEIU  Professional, Technical Employees International Union
HCE  Healthcare Employees Union
IBEW  International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
USWA United Steel Workers Association
URW  United Rubber Workers
AFSCME American Federation of State, County, Municipal Employees
OSEA Oregon State Education Association
PACE United Paper Workers International Union
CWA Communication Workers of America
UAW United Auto Workers
NJEA  New Jersey Education Association
AWIU Aluminum Workers International Union
ICWU  International Chemical Workers Union
IAM  International Association of Machinists
TWU  Transport Workers Union
MEA  Michigan Education Association
AFT  American Federation of Teachers
USEU  United Service Employees Union
PSEA  Pennsylvania State Education Association
UEW  United Electrical Workers
TSTA Texas State Teachers Association
ITPEU  Industrial, Technical, Professional Employees Union