Aramark Corporation and its profits over people policy – FSView & Florida Flambeau

Sydney Paolercio| Staff Writer

Student workers at the Strozier Library Starbucks have raised the alarm about working conditions under Aramark. The controversial dining provider that was widely criticized many times before has been accused of abuses that its employees have grown tired of.

Some of the food service workers under Aramark have pointed out that, although corporate Starbucks announced plans to raise their minimum wage to $15 in Oct. 2021, those working under Aramark have only received a 50 cent raise in their pay from the original $10. I find it quite odd that the employees at the Strozier Library Starbucks are getting paid less than those who arent contracted under Aramark despite doing the same work.

One employee in particular noted that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, none of the workers have received any hazard pay despite seeing customers from across the entirety of FSU campus daily. Under corporate Starbucks policy, hazard pay is to be extended to employees for up to 14 days if they have been exposed to COVID-19. This has not been offered to the Strozier Starbucks workers which is contracted through Aramark at all. They also said that despite both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)and FSU recommending KN95 masks to combat the latest wave of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, they have only been given poor-quality cloth masks, which have been reported to be less effective against the Omicron variant of COVID-19. The employee, who wished to remain anonymous, said that they bought KN95 masks with their own money in order to, Just feel at least a little bit safer at work.

Another issue raised was the lack of training they have received. Under Aramark, employees reportedly receive no formal training, they are simply thrown into the work environment and expected to learn on the spot. Another worker, who also preferred to remain anonymous,said that they have had to learn about the job through asking other workers, while another added onto this by saying that they had to Google information in real time to answer whatever questions they had. When speaking to employees that worked at Starbucks establishments that werent under Aramark, but instead through corporate, I found that they are actually meant to receive two weeks of training before they begin working. This is a stark contrast to the story a differentemployee, who also chose to remain anonymous, told me in which they recounted how they were told to train another employee on their second day at work. I find this task givento someone with such little experience to be highly irresponsible and reckless.

One other issue that was mentioned again and again was a serious lack of staffing. Often, the employees at this establishment find themselves to be at a shortage of workers during their respective shifts. One particularly shocking story another employee, who also wished to remain anonymous,told me involved another coworker on their day off.

According to the employee I spoke to, they said the coworkersaw how busy the line was so she came over to our side and started making drinks un-clocked in without pay because she saw how understaffed and backed up we were. So we had a barista in pajamas making drinks, unpaid, not clocked in to help us deal with how overwhelmed we were. This is a violation of labor laws and, quite frankly, a failure on the part of Aramark. To hear that something like this was allowed to occur on campus shows a lack of care for its students that provide their labor.

Aramark has come under fire numerous times for their controversies involving racism and their use of prison labor. One particular instance occurred at New York University, in which Aramark approved a menu which included Kool-Aid and watermelons to be served in honor of Black History Month. Due to this, NYU decided to terminate their contract with Aramark. This is not the first time this happened, however. The same exact incident also occurred at Loyola University Chicago.

Aramark also uses prison labor to package and prepare food that is provided in prisons. At these very same prisons, the food that Aramark provided for them had maggots in it, which called their contracts into question. Despite all of this, FSU still allows Aramark a corporation that participates in modern-day slavery and provides horrible quality food to feed our student body. Employees at the Strozier Library Starbucks find all this, in conjunction with the abuses they are dealing with, to be their breaking point. Im inclined to agree with them.

When looking at all of this damning information, it calls into question the morals of FSU and their decision to keep their contract with Aramark, despite how they are treating student workers and the company's numerous controversies. The actions that have been exhibited by Aramark are truly deplorable and beg the question: Is money worth more than your students?

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Aramark Corporation and its profits over people policy - FSView & Florida Flambeau