ASU dining hall workers employed by Aramark protested alleged surveillance and interrogation by management during a picket line near the Memorial Union on the Tempe campus.
The protest took place on Oct. 22 and was organized by the UNITE HERE Local 11 labor union. Its participants included "community members, elected officials, students and, clergy," according to the union.
"We mainly demand respect, fair wages, always, and to be able to be comfortable in your workplace without having to worry about mistreatment," Domiyono Hardy, a worker at Manzanita Dining Hall, said.
The group marched on the west side of the Memorial Union with signs and chants, followed by a speech by Vicente Martinez, a worker at Manzanita Dining Hall who allegedly experienced disrespect and "very sarcastic and degrading stuff."
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"We did end up organizing a delegation to confront the issues," Martinez said. "But the manager was just like, 'I don't want to listen to you.'"
He and Hardy said the dining hall was understaffed, and Martinez said their managers asked them to "suck it up."
Hardy also alleged that his manager interrogated him about his activity with the union. According to the Legal Aid at Work website, the law forbids most employers from interfering with employees and their union activity.
"We have not yet received a copy of the unfair labor practice charge that the union has reportedly filed," an Aramark spokesperson said in a written statement. "While we are disappointed by the timing of this action, we respect our employees' rights and are focused on negotiating in good faith with the union to reach a fair and mutually beneficial agreement."
Victoria Stahl, the communications organizer at UNITE HERE Local 11, said the union has filed pending unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, which typically go through a lengthy investigation process before a decision is made.
"Workers simply were trying to speak out about the issues that they were facing, and Aramark management has gone above and beyond to interrogate workers about it, which is not okay," Stahl said.
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The investigation process has slowed down under the current administration due to understaffing and underfunding at the board, Stahl said. While they hope the charges will be investigated promptly, the workers are still taking action to pressure the company while the cases remain pending, she said.
"I want us to be able to feel comfortable going to our manager when we have a problem, instead of being silenced or pushed away or just being afraid because we don't know how the manager is going to react," Hardy said.
Martinez said he hopes the protest will place pressure on the company to resolve their concerns.
"As the union that represents these workers, we are going to stand behind them, support them and we're going to continue to follow their lead," Stahl said. "We're going to continue to speak out against the disrespect that Aramark is putting them through."
Correction: A previous version of this article stated a figure for the number of protesters. On Oct. 24 at 1:14 p.m. this figure was removed. The State Press is unable to verify the accuracy of reports on how many protesters were present.
Edited by Natalia Rodriguez, George Headley and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at ktale@asu.edu and follow @KasturiTale on X.
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Kasturi Tale is the Echo desk editor at the State Press. She has previously worked on her own blog and has a background in creative writing.
