Aramark Employee Labor Disputes
By Colette Combs
A Brief Overview of Aramark and AU:
From __ to early 2019, American University contracted Aramark workers to work in housekeeping, janitorial roles, and food service. Aramark is a hospitality company that contracts out employees to work at hospitals, universities, school districts, stadiums and other businesses. Because Aramark employees were contract workers, they were technically employed by Aramark, not American University. American University used this as rationale for why Aramark did not receive the same wages, retirement plans, access to classes/tuition, and other benefits as employees with contracts directly with AU.
Protests for better working conditions started as early as 2002 and 2003, as Aramark workers and students composed a petition to AU administration detailing demands for higher wages. In 2009, another petition, this time organized by the Community Action and Social Justice Coalition on campus, again called for higher wages and better working conditions for Aramark employees. At the time, some janitors contracted with Aramark were making just $14,000 a year. In 2011, former AU President Kerwin held a heated townhall on the topic of Aramark workers' benefits and contracts, and in 2012, AU reevaluated its contract with Aramark housekeeping workers. 2015 and 2016 were particularly active years for student labor advocates on campus. A few major events, detailed below, sparked intense protests and renewed organizing efforts during these years. Again, in 2019 with new student organizations and another controversial firing, attention returned to Aramark workers.
The University eventually terminated its contract with Aramark in 2019 and started a new contract with Chartwells.
AU students were very engaged in advocating for Aramark workers' rights, benefits, and contracts. Several student groups, including Exploited Wonk and Justice for AU Workers, meet with employees to discuss their needs, organized protests, and mobilized on social media to raise awareness and support. Students for decades have been an integral part of labor organizing efforts on campus. Learn more about some of these efforts below!
While disputes related to Aramark were frequent and ongoing, a few key moments created returned energy or increased mobilization to advocacy for workers' rights, particularly in 2016. Check out the case studies below to learn about some of the most important moments in the disputes, and how students got involved.
AUPD Arrests Jim McCabe
Former AU professor Jim McCabe was arrested in the Terrace Dining Room for protesting for Aramark workers on October 14, 2015. At the time of his arrested, McCabe was handing out flyers in TDR in support of AU food service worker benefits. The flyers pointed out that many Aramark workers could not retire do to poor retirement plans, and drew comparisons to the benefits provided to other university staff members. McCabe was not charged with anything, but was transported out of TDR upon the request of AUPD. McCabe's protest and arrest sparked outrage and mobilization from students across campus, and led to more awareness about Aramark contract disputes.
Read an article about this incident in one ofAU's student newspapers, The Eagle here.
Image from The Eagle on Twitter.
Click the video below to watch footage from the arrest of Jim McCabe.
Aramark Fires Ana Ebanks
In September of 2016, Ana Ebanks claimed she was fired for missing 40 minutes of work in the AU Terrace Dining Room because of a Washington College of Law class. According to Ebanks, she had made a verbal agreement with her Aramark supervisor to accommodate for the fact that her class at the WCL overlapped with her shift. Students brought awareness to the firing on social media using #Justice4Ana. On September 7th, 2007, over 100 students gathered on the steps of the Mary Graydon Center to protest Aramark's firing of Ebanks. Students also organized frequent sit-ins in front of resident district manager of Aramark Kenneth Chadwick's office in the Mary Graydon Center. This issue was one of the most mobilizing for AU students in the 2000s.
Read articles about this incident in one of AU's student newspapers, The Eagle here and here.
Image from article in The Eagle published in 2016.
Click the video below to watch Ana Ebanks' daughter, Josselyn, talk about her mother's experience being fired.
Justice for AU Workers Coalition
During renewed attention to workers rights in 2016, two student organizations formed to mobalize around the issue: Exploited Wonk and the Student Worker Alliance. In early February of 2016, the two student groups formed a coalition to create committees to support Aramark workers. Exploited Wonk was active on social media, and Justice for AU workers was an alliance between workers and students. The coalition became the Justice for AU Workers coalition. Aramark employees were present at the meeting where the coalition was formed, and spoke with students about their concerns and needs. While student groups had been working with Aramark workers for years, the formation of the coalition brought renewed energy and attention to the issue.
Read articles about this event in one of AU's student newspapers, The Eagle, here. and here.
The Works AU and Anthony Randolph's Firing
Student led organizations often struggle to stay active after founding and particularly active members graduate. In 2017 and by 2018, efforts by former student organizations fizzled out. In 2019, a new student organization, The Works AU, re-mobalized AU students in support or Aramark workers. Renewed attention to the issue was brought about in part after Aramark fired Anthony Randolph, who worked in food service at AU for 17 years. Randolph was fired due to outstanding parking tickers. Students and union members protested, claiming that Randolph's firing was wrongful and a breach of contract. This event sparked interest in Aramark workers on campus, which The Works AU channeled into a renewed student movement. The Works AU used social media and a newsletter to encourage students to participate in labor related demonstrations, both on and off campus.
Read articles about this incident in one of AU's student newspapers, The Eagle here and here.
Image from article in The Eagle published in 2019.
Questions to consider:
If you are an AU student or Alumni, how have janitors, housekeepers, and food service workers impacted your student experience?
How far would you be willing to go to support worker's rights at AU? Would you join a student organization related to a labor cause? Would you write a letter to AU administration? Would you protest or participate in a rally?
What can we take away from the Aramark workers' strikes? Are there particular mobilizing strategies that would work today?
How can you get involved in advocating for workers' rights?
To learn more about the Aramark disputes and other labor history at AU, check out the "Timeline of AU Labor" under the "Timeline of Labor History" tab at the top of this website. There, you will find more details and articles about the Aramark disputes and other moments in AU labor history, like the Adjunct union, AU drivers union, ServiceMaster dispute, and more.
Special thanks to the excellent student journalists at American University, past and present, whose reporting on labor disputes and protests from the 1970s to 2023 made this project possible