Teachers
won't break bread with food service
Thursday, November 10, 2005 •
BY JOHN MOONEY • Star-Ledger
Staff
The New Jersey Education Association is
brown-bagging its Atlantic City teachers convention this
week to protest the convention center's private food
company, forcing the company to sit out the massive two-day
event.
The union is protesting Aramark Corp.'s
cafeteria contracts in scores of New Jersey and other
schools, as districts have increasingly privatized these and
other support services to save money.
The 192,000-member union, with thousands
of its members in food services, says the privatizing has
cost "hundreds" of its members' jobs.
"This is a major concern for us: we don't
want to have our members to have their jobs subcontracted,"
said Joyce Powell, the NJEA's president.
The convention, one of the state's
biggest with an estimated 40,000 participants, starts today.
Virtually all public schools in the state are closed today
and tomorrow for the event.
Since the Philadelphia-based Aramark
holds the convention center's exclusive food contract, the
NJEA has instead enlisted a concessionaire for outside the
hall and the Sheraton Hotel across the street to sell boxed
lunches, no small feat in itself.
"I would hope there will be a few
thousand (of the lunches)," said Powell, adding there are
many restaurants nearby as well.
This is the first time in memory that the
NJEA has used the considerable clout of its convention to
make a labor statement.
More New Jersey districts appear to be
using private firms to provide food and other services,
especially as budgets get tighter. A 2002 survey found more
than half using private food services and reporting some
savings, according to the state's school boards
association.
Aramark would not comment on the snub,
only releasing a general statement.
"We provide world class services to
ensure successful meetings and are committed to making our
services available should they be requested," a spokeswoman
said.
However, Aramark and the NJEA did meet to
try to resolve the issue. Aramark is in the second year of
the three-contract with the Atlantic City Convention and
Visitors Authority, and when the same objections were raised
last year, Aramark brought in another company for NJEA's
convention.
"This year they decided not to do that,"
said Powell, who is presiding over her first convention as
the NJEA's president. "We tried to sit down and have a
conversation about this, but they are a business and we
understand that. There is not much they could
do."
The convention authority said yesterday
that it is their clients' prerogative whether to include the
food service in their events, and many of them do forgo the
food. But spokeswoman Susan Ricciardi said this was the
first time the food service was left out as a
protest.
"The NJEA has been a client in our
building for so many years, and we want to provide the best
service to them that we possibly can," Ricciardi said. "If
this is a request of theirs, we'll be honoring
that."
The union is paying the Convention
Authority $176,600 for use of the four-level center,
according to the NJEA. The entire convention and its dozens
of workshops and presentations cost the union about $1.2
million each year.
The NJEA said its convention will also
host 800 exhibitors this year, its largest number to
date.
John Mooney covers education. He may be reached at
jmooney@starledger.com, or (973) 392-1548.
© 2005 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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