Sodexo Sues SEIU Under Racketeering Act

Sodexo USA has filed a civil lawsuit against the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and other defendants under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, to stop what it says is an illegal campaign of extortion that the SEIU has been waging in the U.S. for over a year.

"This is about protecting the Company's business and the rights of our employees to vote freely about union representation," says Robert Stern, Sodexo's senior vice president and general counsel. "We work constructively with unions every day but the SEIU has crossed the line by breaking the law. We will not tolerate the SEIU's tactics any longer. Their campaign jeopardizes our Company and our employees' jobs, and ultimately would rob our employees of their right to vote."

The complaint alleges that the SEIU, in face to face meetings, threatened Sodexo executives that it would harm Sodexo USA's business unless it gave in to the union, and then carried out its threats through egregious behavior such as

• throwing plastic roaches onto food being served by Sodexo at a high profile event,

• scaring hospital patients by insinuating that Sodexo food contained bugs, rat droppings, mold and flies,

• lying to interfere with Sodexo business and sneaking into elementary schools to avoid security,

• violating lobbying laws to steer business away from Sodexo, even at the risk of costing Sodexo employees their jobs and

• harassing Sodexo employees by threatening to accuse them of wrongdoing.

The complaint, filed in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia, seeks an injunction against the SEIU and its locals and executives, as well as monetary damages to be determined by the court.