from AAUP listserv
May 24, 2011
To: Phyllis Wise, UW Interim President
Fr: Department of Global Health, MPH Faculty
re: UW Sodexo Contract
It has come to our attention that U. W. students affiliated with United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) has been urging the UW to drop its multi-million dollar contract with Sodexo, the multinational food service provider that provides concessions at Husky Stadium and other athletic venues. Our assessment of the evidence for the claims against Sodexo (including the TransAfrica study) is that there is substantial international controversy regarding the company’s business practices. The charges against the company range from racial discrimination, repression of union rights, the payment of substandard wages in the U.S. and abroad, and price gouging. We understand Sodexo’s 2008 revenues totaled more than $20 billion, with profits exceeding $1 billion. We understand Sodexo operates in 80 countries, is the world’s 22nd-largest employer, and has 355,000 employees.
Our Department’s mission is “to close the gap between the world’s 1 billion people who experience relatively good health and the 5 billion who experience much lower levels of health,” and our goals are to address the causes of, and help provide solutions for, disparities in health around the globe. Our first value in our value statement is to work to promote social justice and health equity and respect for disadvantaged individuals and populations.”
Given these priorities and values, we feel moved to request the University of Washington to respectfully listen to the students who are presenting the case for re-examining the Sodexo contract, and to investigate the claims more carefully and thoughtfully than seems to have been done to date. It is inconsistent to value social justice and poverty reduction as the important components of global public health in our teaching, research and service, while at the same time engaging in business practices that undermine these values.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
DGH MPH faculty
Stephen Bezruchka
Fred Connell
Karen Cowgill
Donna Denno
Ann Downer
Amy Hagopian
Wendy Johnson
Aaron Katz
Mary Anne Mercer
James Pfeiffer
Letitia Reason
Julia Robinson
David Roesel
Kenny Sherr
Clarence Spigner