ARAMARK on Unions: Background
Protecting Workers' Rights: The Secret Ballot
Views on the Secret Ballot
Union Q&A
Setting the Record Straight (news websites)
Our people are our greatest asset. We offer competitive wages, both in our industry and for similar positions in the communities where we operate. The vast majority of ARAMARK's employees, salaried and hourly, have the opportunity to participate in an ARAMARK sponsored health plan, and in most cases, ARAMARK makes a substantial contribution to the cost of these plans. We also offer a range of other benefits, including insurance and retirement savings plans. Beyond traditional benefits, the company is committed to providing employees with unique programs, including special training opportunities.
Our preference is that our employees deal directly with ARAMARK on issues concerning their employment, rather than through third party unions. However, for half a century, ARAMARK has enjoyed excellent relationships with the unions that represent our employees. In fact, we have hundreds of collective bargaining agreements across North America and seldom, if ever, have a serious dispute with any of our unions.
Several unions, including the SEIU and UNITE HERE, have announced their intent to organize service workers across the Professional Services industry. Their goal is to organize these workers through the use of card check/neutrality agreements, doing away with secret ballot elections. The card check/neutrality approach, which denies an employee the right to a private vote, is the same approach that was rejected in the summer of 2007 by the U.S. Senate. While we have on occasion at our clients’ request entered into card check neutrality agreements, generally we feel this is a decision for our clients, not for ARAMARK.
ARAMARK remains dedicated to maintaining strong relationships with the unions that represent thousands of our workers. Regardless of the unions’ dispute with the industry, this company remains what it’s always been – an excellent provider of services for our customers, a reliable business partner for our clients, a renowned employer that offers a great place to work, and a dedicated member of the communities in which we live and work.
Secret ballot elections have been the bedrock of our democracy for more than 200 years. More than 70 years ago, unions fought hard for the right of employees to decide whether a union should represent them for bargaining purposes. The secret ballot election process ensures workers have the right to vote on a union just like we vote in a presidential election—in secret. It permits employees to express their desires free from coercion from unions and employers.
However, union membership has declined significantly in the U.S. since the 1970s, leading unions to embark on a new organizing tactic that threatens the secret ballot, a cornerstone of democracy. Card check neutrality completely undermines the concept of the secret ballot and eliminates the protections it affords. Signing a union card means:
- You give up your right to vote privately on whether you want to be represented by a union;
- You are signing a legally binding document that says you support the union;
- You agree to pay union dues; and
- You will follow all the union’s rules and procedures.
The card check/neutrality approach, which denies an employee the right to a private vote, is the same approach that was rejected in the summer of 2007 by the U.S. Senate.
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Unions and workers have long supported the secret ballot and a majority continues to do so.
- Unions, in fact, support secret-ballot elections when it comes to union decertification. The AFL-CIO argued that secret-ballot elections “provide the surest means of avoiding decisions which are the result of group pressures and not individual choices.”
- A 2007 poll for the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace found that 87 percent of general-election voters agree workers should have the right to secret-ballot elections when deciding upon organizing a union, and 89 percent believe secret ballots are better in preventing interference by unions or employers.
- A 2004 poll for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy found that 53 percent of union members believe that secret ballots are the fairest way to decide on a union and that 71 percent of union members agreed the secret ballot process is fair.
Courts also support the secret ballot as the fairest method of choosing union representation.
- The Second Circuit Court wrote, “It is beyond dispute that secret election is a more accurate reflection of the employees’ true desires than a check of authorization cards collected at the behest of a union organizer.”
- The Fourth Circuit Court wrote, “It would be difficult to imagine a more unreliable method of ascertaining the real wishes of employees than a ‘card check.’”
Unfortunately, what’s good for union leaders isn’t always what’s good for workers. As Sal Rosselli, a former head of SEIU’s California State Council recently said: “Over the past two years, a stark difference has evolved between SEIU's projected image and its real world practices. An overly zealous focus on growth, growth at any cost, apparently has eclipsed SEIU's commitment to its members.”
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Q. What is ARAMARK’s history with unions?
A. For 50 years, ARAMARK has enjoyed excellent relationships with the unions that represent our employees by respecting their rights. We have hundreds of collective bargaining agreements across North America and seldom, if ever, have serious disputes with any of our unions.
Q. How many ARAMARK employees are members of a union?
A. Approximately 30 percent of our hourly workers are currently represented by a union, primarily SEIU and UNITE HERE. We have always enjoyed a constructive and cordial relationship with these unions.
Q. What is ARAMARK’s position on unions?
A. Our preference is that our employees deal directly with ARAMARK on issues concerning their employment, rather than through third party unions. However, for half a century, ARAMARK has enjoyed excellent relationships with the unions that represent our employees. In fact, we have hundreds of collective bargaining agreements across North America and seldom, if ever, have a serious dispute with any of our unions.
Q. How does ARAMARK treat its employees?
A. At ARAMARK, we know that our employees are our greatest asset. We offer competitive wages, both in our industry and for similar positions in the communities where we operate. The vast majority of ARAMARK's employees, salaried and hourly, have the opportunity to participate in an ARAMARK sponsored health plan, and in most cases, ARAMARK makes a substantial contribution to the cost of these plans. We also offer a range of other benefits, including insurance and retirement savings plans. Beyond traditional benefits, the company is committed to providing employees with unique programs, including special training opportunities.
Q. What do the unions want?
A. Several unions, including the SEIU and UNITE HERE, have announced their intent to organize service workers across the professional services industry. Their goal is to damage the reputations of companies such as ARAMARK in the hopes of gaining leverage at the bargaining table. To ameloriate declining union membership numbers, unions are attempting to organize these workers through the use of card check neutrality agreements.
Q. What is card check neutrality?
A. Card check neutrality eliminates secret ballot elections. The card check neutrality approach denies an employee the right to a private vote. Instead of a secret ballot, the unions simply want workers to sign a card – a card union organizers hand you and then collect back. This is called “card check.” While we have on occasion at our clients’ request entered into card check neutrality agreements, generally we feel this is a decision for our clients, not for ARAMARK.
Q. What does union membership guarantee?
A. Joining a union means that the union leaders bargain for you and everyone else in that union – no matter where they live. You give up control to union leaders because they decide what’s best for you. Unions can’t guarantee higher wages, better benefits, less work, or easier jobs - no matter what they promise
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