Food service workers at Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic rallied Friday in protest against Mayo's plans to subcontract food service employees, according to a Post-Bulletin report.
Leaders with Service Employees International Union Healthcare Minnesota, a union representing food service workers at Mayo, and supporters also participated in the rally.
SEIU Healthcare Minnesota is fighting Mayo's plan to switch from Sodexo to Morrison Healthcare for food and nutrition services at 20 campuses. An estimated 700 Mayo food service workers would become Morrison employees if the switch took place, according to the article. Sodexo food service workers who work at Mayo facilities but are not Mayo employees would also become Morrison employees.
Sodexo employees said the proposal would result in thousands of dollars in extra insurance and benefit costs for workers, according to the article.
But Jamie Gulley, president of the SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, said at the rally that the fight is about more than the group of 700 workers, reports Post-Bulletin.
"This is about the future of Rochester, and are we going to be a city of haves and have nots?" she said.
Mayo has contended local employees will be offered jobs for the same pay, and that the change "will allow us to deliver consistent and enhanced food and nutrition options to our patients, visitors and staff."
"We fully understand that this change is difficult for our food service employees, which is why we are committed to protecting jobs and salaries and offering one of the most generous transition packages in the industry," Mayo spokeswoman Ginger Plumbo said, according to the report. "Contrary to many other employees in similar situations, Mayo is supportive of our food service staff if they want to seek and secure other jobs within our organization."
According to the article, the union, in an effort to debunk Mayo's claim that the outsourcing will result in better food service, now seeks an 18-month reprieve to prove "we can beat any patient satisfaction score at another location" with proper training.
Friday's picket follows another rally that took place in August. In addition to the protest of Mayo's plans to switch food vendors, it was announced Friday that 126 non-union Sodexo employees who work at Mayo had collected enough signatures to cause an election to join SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, reports Post-Bulletin.