Information AboutAramark |
|
The company was founded in 1959 by Davre Davidson and William Fishman as Automatic Retailers of America, whose business was in Vending Machine s. ARA bought Philadelphia's Slater Systems, Inc., in 1961 . ARA's first international operation was the Catering of the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City . The next year, Automatic Retailers of America became ARA Services. In 1977 , ARA entered the uniform business. ARA changed its name to Aramark in 1994 . Aramark is also the operator of several of the United States national parks, including Denali National Park in Alaska. LEGAL ISSUES Since Aramark's 2003 takeover of the environmental services at Scott & White Hospital in Temple, Texas, the company has been under fire for alleged Malfeasance , breach of contract, incompetence and rampant Workplace Bullying . While the hospital's board members have profusely praised the company, most other staff members have been extremely critical of Aramark's managers, of its treatment of its employees and of the quality of the services provided. Several former Scott & White employees have successfully sued the company, while others have settled out of court. Scott & White, a major medical center with satellite clinics throughout central Texas, is one of Aramark's largest customers. In January of 2004 , Aramark agreed to pay more than $29,000 in gratuities to employees of the Southbridge Conference Center in Boston , Massachusetts after several employees filed complaints that the company was withholding their tips. According to the complaints, the tips were withheld from January of 2002 to August of 2003. (Boston Globe, Jan. 28, 2004.) In 2005 , several Aramark managers were implicated in an Embezzlement scandal involving underreporting of the company's vending machine revenues. CRITICISM Part of Aramark's business involves Prison catering and prison shops. The group "Campaign Against Prison Slavery" alleges that while serving this "captive market," Aramark billed Ohio's prisons as if had served 4,462,649 meals instead of the 2,803,722 meals actually served. The difference could represent an over-billing of some $2.08 million. Aramark subsequently lost the contract in 2000 when State employees put in a bid that was one million dollars lower than the company's bid. {Link without Title} In addition to prisons, Aramark supplies catering services to many universities and colleges across North America. In this capacity they have been criticized for entering into secret, exclusive contacts with administrations without the consult or input of student organizations. Many schools have adopted mandatory Aramark "meal plan" requirements for living in on-campus Residence Hall s, including the University Of Alberta 's Lister Center Residence. Aramark school contracts are typically restrictive to the point where they require that the university use the company's services to provide all food on campus. Students have been required to ask Aramark for permission before baking their own snacks for social events, and barred from buying food items at grocery stores for use at student meetings because of university contractual obligations with Aramark. {Link without Title} {Link without Title} Although in the past it was fairly common for college dining to be handled in-house, or by smaller companies serving small geographic markets, the university food services industry could today be described as an , and Compass Group . Former food service business owner T.J. MacDermott described the situation :"I would say that 90 percent of all contractors at colleges use the Big Three, it's intensifying. It's reached a point now that when contracts are negotiated they'll offer a no-strings attachment, which includes a $50,000 to $150,000 cash payment that goes to the college's treasury. It's as good as being a star second baseman. We think that it's money for nothing. There's no repayment requirement. It's like a gift. The financial competition among the Big Three essentially freezes out the smaller independents."[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_47_39/ai_n15923216 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE Current members of the , Patricia Barron , Leonard Coleman , Ronald Davenport , Thomas Kean , James Ksansnak , Joseph Neubauer , James E. Preston , Ronald Sargent , and Karl Von Der Heyden . EXTERNAL LINK |
|
|