A group of employees who work in the cafe and catering operation at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens and their supporters rallied Friday afternoon, just days before they are set to lose their jobs.
Workers were attempting to deliver a petition and meet with management.
The food service workers are employed by a contractor, Sodexo Live!. The contract ends Sunday, and workers say management has been unresponsive as to whether they will have jobs beyond that.
The employees had been seeking union recognition with the Service Employees International Union 32 BJ.
“[We’ve been] fighting for respect, fighting for tips, a regular schedule, what you should get in a workplace that they refuse to give to us,” said Sarah LaFiura, a cafe cashier.
The employees work as cooks, dishwashers, cashiers, janitors, event staff and bartenders, according to the union.
“This scenario is exactly why these employees wanted a union in the first place — so they would be protected and unified when a contractor switch happened,” Pete Schmidt, 32BJ SEIU Western PA district leader, said in a press release.
“Part of Phipps' mission statement is to ‘advance sustainability and promote human and environmental well-being through action and research.’ We don't think the people who wrote that mission would be proud of the inaction and indifference to the well-being of the people who work here, which has been on display,” Schmidt said.
Workers have been holding rallies and events for several months; in November, Pittsburgh City Council passed a Will of Council in support of the workers.
City Councilor Bob Charland, who represents city council as a Phipps board member, also spoke at Friday’s event.
“I'm really upset that we're standing here in the cold,” Charland told the crowd. “But worse than being in the cold is being in the dark. And the fact that no one can get a hold of you and no one can tell you what the plan is in the future is just not acceptable.”
Officials at Phipps said the cafe operation ran a $400,000 deficit last year and the organization is seeking to reimagine its food service model, which includes both a cafe and catering.
Sodexo Live! was notified of the end of contract in October, said Joe Reed, a spokesman for Phipps. “As a huge international food service company, we are encouraging Sodexo Live! to find placements for all of their staff in other operations,” Reed wrote in an email, in response to questions.
A Sodexo representative could not be reached by WESA on Friday.
“We don’t yet know what the new food service model looks like, how many positions there will be, the full scope of work those roles will perform, or who will operate the café and catering, but we can anticipate that it will differ significantly to what we’ve done before. Any new providers we contract will be responsible for their own staffing, and we can't speak to what their staffing needs will be,” according to Reed.
