I've worked at OSU stadium for ten years, but eleven football seasons. I make $10 an hour, but I see my coworkers getting raises who were hired more recently. Other people were hired as full-time and start at a higher pay rate, where I'm considered a 'seasonal' employee, meaning I don't have any benefits like healthcare or holiday pay.

Sodexo doesn't want us to have a union here. They want to go on the way they always have. If we were all treated the same--if the rules applied to everybody--then we'd be a lot happier in our job. I see women who are hired earn less than the men who get hired at the same time for the same job. I don't think that's fair.

When management heard we were organizing a union, they sent Human Resources to hold a meeting that every employee had to attend. They said, 'the only time people want a union is when they are dissatisfied with management. So, how can we make you more satisfied?' After the meeting with HR, I got my first review ever and my first raise in seven years, which brought me up to the rate that many new employees start at. Management just picks who they want to have the full-time positions. I don't know how they decide. They don't want to fully pay the vacation and health insurance benefits of full-time employees - it seems like Sodexo wants their profits to be as big as possible.

A few months ago, almost everyone working in the stadiums had the flu. Some end up working sick because we don't get sick days and we can't afford to miss a day of pay. I caught the flu and it turned into pneumonia and I was hospitalized for four days.

I only take home $14,000 a year. The utility that's about to be shut off is the bill that I pay. I'm two months behind on my car payment, and I don't know when I can pay again. I have nothing besides my job. I need health insurance, but can't afford it. I need eyeglasses but can't buy them. Obviously, I do my job well or they wouldn't have kept me for 10 years. I'm tired of begging for a raise and I'm tired of sacrificing time with my kids for a job that keeps us in poverty. It's time for a union.