Cafeteria Workers Rally At CBS Gala to Protest Conditions
As CBS Rolls Out the Red Carpet for Upfront, ARAMARK Employees at CBS Headquarters Have the Rug Pulled Out From Under Their Feet NEW YORK, May 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by UNITE HERE!:
As CBS Corporation rolls out the red carpet for advertisers and executives at Carnegie Hall at its annual Upfront today, striking cafeteria workers employed by ARAMARK at CBS Headquarters will rally for a chance to roll out their kitchen mats again and return to work. What: ARAMARK workers rally at CBS Upfront
Advertisers will gather at CBS's upfront today to purchase commercial airtime in the network's new fall lineup for rates as high as $360,000 for 30 seconds. The combined yearly take-home pay of all 12 ARAMARK cafeteria workers at CBS's New York headquarters, where ARAMARK is the food service contractor, is only 2/3 that amount -- yet for seven weeks, they've been forced to strike over ARAMARK's refusal to sign a contract that would still leave the annual cost of running the cafeteria far lower than one advertisement. Today, ARAMARK workers are walking their own red carpet, asking their employer ARAMARK and its corporate clients to do the right thing. And since they've been left out of the gala inside, they're hosting their own festivities outside Carnegie Hall, including the Worker Wheel of MisFortune ("where everyone's a loser!"). "I'm always just a paycheck or two from being homeless," said ARAMARK utility worker Wilbert Baldwin. Likewise, ARAMARK kitchen employee Katrina Farquharson said, "I have to cut out paying one of my bills or pay a bill late just to see that one of my babies has a gift for Christmas or a birthday." The workers are not asking for star treatment: all they want is a fair contract from ARAMARK allowing them to better provide for their families in New York City. After an average of nine years on the job, they take home only about $400 per week -- making it very difficult to get by. The ARAMARK workers at CBS Headquarters have been without a contract since November 14, 2007 and have been on strike since March 27, 2008. ARAMARK food service workers at two Bank of New York Mellon locations in New York are also currently on strike. UNITE HERE is a labor union representing nearly half a million North American members in the hospitality, textile and service industries. UNITE HERE is working to raise the living standards and improve the working conditions of those who provide food service to institutions and businesses nationwide -- many of whom are employed by ARAMARK. First Call Analyst:
CONTACT: Heidi Bruggink, +1-347-327-2655, or Matt Furshong
2008-05-13 18:30:07 0360869 PRNEWSWIRE
HOME || Press Release Archive || © Leigh Media Corporation || Terms of Use || Privacy Policy || Publish Your Press Release Here |