Terry Shelly, a former Sodexo cashier in the Orleans Room, said Sodexo terminated her from her job on grounds of “theft,” but she says the reason for her firing is only a cover-up.
Shelly said that about two weeks ago, she allowed a Loyola University Police Department officer and two young men to enter the cafeteria without paying for their meals. She doesn’t deny what happened, but instead said her supervisors are unreasonably singling her out because of her role in trying to unionize dining employees, which she feels led to her termination.
“I think I’m a target because of my role in the union,” she said. “When I first walked in the office that day, the first thing they commented was the union. They know I’m a strong person and that the students like me.”
Ben Hartley, general manager of Sodexo dining, said he could not legally comment on Shelly’s termination.
When Shelly arrived to work the following Tuesday, Marc Main, resident dining manager, brought her into his office, Shelly said. There, he and Heather Bacque, general manager, showed Shelly video footage of the officer and two young men entering the O.R. without paying any money or using a university meal plan.
As she watched the video, Shelly said she didn’t deny any of the allegations against her but said she had done nothing wrong because it was a common practice among many Sodexo workers. She also said that the police officer on video did not eat on that particular day because he was ill, although he has eaten meals there before.
According to her, LUPD officers had received free meals in the O.R. for years from numerous dining services workers, and the two boys seen on film were the sons of O.R. supervisor Karen Johnson.
When the footage ended, Main and Bacque told Shelly they came to a decision and terminated her from her job, Shelly said. She said she was fired on the spot without receiving any warnings, suspensions or a chance to repay the amount of money Sodexo claimed she had stolen from them.
“I don’t think they justified their reasons very well,” Shelly said. “If you are going to bring a situation to a halt, I think you need to do more investigation and try to investigate everything.”
Shelly, a leading supporter of unionizing Sodexo employees at Loyola, has been working with other workers to form a union to ensure their jobs and work towards receiving better working conditions. She, however, had voiced her opinions publicly and provided her story on flyers circulating around school. She also encouraged students to sign a petition supporting the workers.
Shelly said she feels Sodexo’s actions sent a threatening message to any worker thinking of openly voicing their opinions about being underpaid or trying to unionize.
“They better be careful … they are targeting the people that they see are strong and will hold their ground,” Shelly said.
Craig Malveaux can be reached at
