Fall for the Book Writers on Sodexo Workers

Letter to the GMU community

The following excerpt comes from Mark Nowak's blog, Coal Mountain, and concerns the reaction of Fall for the Book writers to the allegations of unsafe work environments by Sodexo workers at George Mason University. For the full article, click here.

Nowak is the author of, “Coal Mountain Elementary” (2009) and a distinguished writer of “labor poetics.” As a former fast food employee and current writer and researcher of labor issues, Nowak also felt the decision to join with Sodexo was an easy one.
“Throughout my entire high school and undergraduate career, I worked between 30 and 40 hours per week at a Wendy’s in Buffalo, N.Y., so I have quite extensive knowledge about working conditions in the industry,” Nowak said when reached by email Saturday afternoon.
“What is happening to the Sodexo workers is so intimately a part of my personal history and my own research and writing that I can’t imagine doing anything but supporting these workers,” Nowak continued.
As part of his involvement in this year’s festival, Nowak is scheduled to give a talk on “Occupational Folklore” and he expects the Sodexo worker’s situation to be part of his discussion.