Prompted by members from two unions, Hudson County Freeholders agreed at a recent meeting to look into possibly re-bidding a contract to supply food services to the Hudson County Correctional Facility.
Aramark, the nation’s largest food service contractor, currently supplies the service.
Members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and UNITE-HERE Union told freeholders at the Feb. 24 meeting that the county was paying significantly more than nearby New Jersey counties for the same services.
“Why is Aramark charging Hudson County taxpayers more for its jail food service than it’s charging taxpayers in Essex and Union counties?” asked Kevin Brown, Local 32BJ New Jersey director. “The food is the same, the work is the same, so why the price difference?”
The unions claimed that Aramark’s charges in Hudson County are the highest in the state – between 18 and 42 percent higher than it charges in Bergen, Essex, or Union counties.
Freeholder Bill O’Dea said he’d look into the matter.
“There are two issues, and one I’ve raised consistently,” he said after the meeting. “They are always the only bidder, which makes me suspicious. In looking at what other counties pay, we could be paying 20 to 30 percent too much. We want to know if there are things in the specs that make it unfair and give them a monopoly. The other issue is that the SEIU Union is at odds with Aramark, which is how some information is getting funneled to us.”
The two unions, according to Aramark representatives, are on a campaign to unionize the company’s workers.
Aramark’s response
According to Kristine Grow, the director of communications for Aramark, the unions appear to be using this as an organizing tool.
While the company is not opposed to the concept, Grow charged that the union may be using methods that are not sanctioned by the National Labor Relations Board.
Grow claimed that the groups wanted the workers to vote in public rather than by secret ballot over whether to unionize. “We believe that workers should be informed of the pros and cons before they vote, and then there should be a secret ballot,” Grow said.
Grow believes the lack of a secret vote would leave workers subject to intimidation.
“Aramark is not opposed to unions,” she said. “Of our hourly workers, 30 percent are part of a union. We have a relationship with these unions and already have an agreement with them.”
UNITE-HERE already works with Aramark in other states. About 34,700 of Aramark’s workers are already unionized.
Brown, however, believes a challenge for the contract would be in the unions’ best interests.
“We represent thousands in Hudson County. We believe they are paying too much,” he said. “Our hope is that the freeholders will put the work out [for] bids.”
Lynsey Kryzwick, a spokesperson for the unions’ Campaign for Quality Services, said contracted work for food service companies should be held accountable.
“The issue is about competitive prices,” she said. “We are trying to raise standards in the industry. We are concerned about the company’s business practices and the people working for them.”