UChicago, stop supporting corporations that profit from prisons!

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Most of us already know of the problems of Aramark in UChicago's dining halls: poor quality food, incorrect allergen labelings, shortages of dishes and failed health inspections.

But the problems with Aramark extend far beyond our dining halls.

Aramark is a massive corporation, with a revenue of almost $15 billion in 2014. And Aramark makes many of these profits from prisons, which means Aramark is a major beneficiary of the prison industrial complex.

Aramark provides food in over 600 prisons and has been under fire for years for prisoner abuse:
-In Ohio, Aramark failed to provide sufficient food and understaffed their kitchens. There were allegations of relationships between inmates and Aramark workers, and maggots in the food preparation area.
-The state of Michigan canceled its contract with Aramark after food which had been thrown in the trash, partially eaten by rodents or allowed to rot was served in prisons.
-In New Jersey, prisoners were underfed, causing persistent hunger, and Aramark gave them food which made them sick for days.
-Aramark employees have been charged with delivering marijuana and cell phones to prisoners and having sex with prisoners. Dozens of Aramark staff have been banned from Michigan state prisons because of their actions.
-And this barely scratches the surface; there are hundreds of documentations of misconduct by Aramark, the majority of these cases in prisons.
-These conditions have lead to demonstrations, hunger strikes and protests by prisoners in Ohio, New Mexico, Kentucky and elsewhere. In 2011, Indiana’s ACLU filed a lawsuit against the Department of Corrections because of the substandard food Aramark provided.

Mass incarceration exists because it is profitable. More people in prison means more money for companies that build prisons, operate prisons, produce products used in prisons, use prison labor or provide food in prisons—like Aramark, Sodexo, and Compass Group. As long as UChicago Dining contracts with any company that serves food in prisons, we are funding the prison industrial complex.

Aramark makes hundreds of millions of dollars from prisons, and their problems aren’t just in prisons:
-After the Chicago Public Schools outsourced their janitorial services to Aramark, there has been a lack of custodians, which leads to dirty classrooms and a lack of basic necessities like soap and toilet paper.
-Aramark has been accused of withholding wages and underpaying workers.

Joseph Neubauer, who spent three decades as the CEO and Board Chairman of Aramark, is the chair of the University of Chicago Board of Trustees. He is also the chair of the University’s $4.5 billion fundraising campaign.

What are the other options?

Other food service providers the University is considering, including Sodexo and Compass Group, also profit from prisons. In order to stop supporting mass incarceration and start supporting its workers more, UChicago Dining should self-operate its food service.

Many colleges self-operate, meaning that they run their own dining programs without an outside contractor. In 2008, Yale switched from contracting with Aramark to self-operation. The University of Chicago could and should do the same because self-operation:
-Ends the University’s support for prison privatization and prisoner abuse.
-Makes dining hall staff full members of the University community.
-Allows for direct student input in the University’s food service.
-Enables the University to more effectively respond to students’ concerns.
-Equips the University to provide food service that is on par with that of its peer institutions.

The University of Chicago’s contract with Aramark is ending at the end of this academic year. We are calling on the University of Chicago to:
1. Commit to transitioning to self-operation of their dining service within three years.
2. Give 40% of the new dining contract to local South Side businesses in order to minimize UChicago's complicity with the prison industrial complex during the transition to self-operation.
3. Ensure that the dining hall workers’ current contract continues to be respected during any transition.
4. Provide transparency and seriously consider student input throughout the contract renegotiation process.

Join us by signing the petition!

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Sources:
http://chicagomaroon.com/2015/10/16/cathey-dining-hall-hires-new-nutritionist/
http://chicagomaroon.com/2012/11/29/breaking-cathey-dining-commons-closed-until-further-notice/
http://www.aramark.com/about-us/News/aramark-general/fourth-quarter-full-year-2014-results
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/15/prison-maggots-food_n_5588439.html
http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2015/07/michigan_cancels_aramark_contr.html
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/food_behind_bars_isnt_fit_for_your_dog_20131222
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/28501-five-corporations-you-ve-never-heard-of-making-millions-from-mass-incarceration
http://www.privateci.org/rap_aramark.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/15/prison-maggots-food_n_5588439.html
http://inthesetimes.com/prison-complex/entry/16206/private_contractor_accused_of_skimping_on_prisoner_food
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/08/chicago-public-schools-dirty_n_5922982.html
http://www.knowmore.org/wiki/index.php?title=Aramark
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/08/education/student-life-a-food-fight-over-private-prisons.html
https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2015/dec/2/aramarks-correctional-food-services-meals-maggots-and-misconduct/