U of T Sodexho indefinitely suspended two of its employees without pay on Wednesday afternoon, The Varsity has learned. Maria Ferraz and Goretti Frias, both of whom are members of the organizing committee that is trying to unionize Sodexho workers at U of T, were escorted off the job yesterday and given no firm date for their return.
“I didn’t even get to finish my shift,” said Ferraz on Wednesday evening. “They followed us outside the building like [we were] criminals.”
The two women were told they would not be allowed back to work until the management has had an opportunity to look into allegations that they were harassing anti-union staff members. Both deny any such harassment.
“I was so upset,” said Frias. “I’ve been there for 15 years. I didn’t steal, I wasn’t in a fight or anything. So I thought it must be to do with the union.”
The employees of Sodexho at U of T have been organizing throughout this past summer and into the academic year. The organizing committee submitted a petition to U of T Sodexho general manager Hadi Chahin in late July, calling on the management to “maintain an atmosphere free from pressure, intimidation and harassment” as it pertained to unionization activities. The committee’s eventual aim is to certify UNITE-HERE (The Union of Needle trades, Industrial and Textile Employees & Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees) the collective bargaining agent for the more than 200 Sodexho workers employed on campus. Sodexho has remained officially neutral to the unionizing process.
“[Ferraz and Frias] have been suspended and will not be reinstated until an investigation has been conducted. That could be a week, a month” said UNITE-HERE representative Patricia Chong. “It was kind of a nasty event”
Sodexho was unavailable for comment by press time.
