To the Wesleyan Community:
Perhaps you have noticed the recent influx of foodservice company representatives demonstrating in front of the Campus Center, touting the transformation that each of their employers has in store for our eating experience. Some of you have defied a time-honored axiom in accepting food from these well-dressed strangers.
Shame…
Take their granola bars we might, but there are a lot of questions to be asked and issues to be raised before we consider letting any of these companies into our home for a long stay.
The bidding for Wesleyan’s dining contract was supposed to happen last year, but it was halted due to the resignation of our Director of Auxiliary Operations. During the discussion of a possible dining overhaul, the needs of workers on campus were downplayed or, for the most part, ignored. It did not help that management was blaming the high cost of goods on the unionized workforce and using misleading statistics to back up this claim (see “USLAC: Prioritize workers’ needs” 4/7/06).
The bidding is now scheduled to occur within a few weeks, and we should not let the workers’ voices go unheard this time around. Stewards for our dining workers’ union (UNITE HERE) have visited campuses on which many of these companies have active contracts. These visits have yielded some worry over the future treatment of Wesleyan foodservice workers should one of these companies win the bid. To be fair, while Aramark has posed some daunting challenges to the union, there is an established rapport between the two parties based on years of collective bargaining. Considering that the annual wage for the average dining service worker amounts to less than half-a-year’s tuition for a Wes student, every union victory during this period has been crucial.
It is imperative that whichever company takes the reigns can also respect our dining service workers’ right to collective bargaining and fair compensation. As concerned members of the Wesleyan community, we must do what we can in the meantime to ensure this reality. THE FIRST THING YOU CAN DO IS ATTEND THE STUDENT-WORKER FORUM AT THE MPR ON THURSDAY AT 6 PM!!!** Also, all are encouraged to question incoming foodservice reps about how they plan on treating our workers. This DOES send a message to the company, and will let them know where our priorities lie.
Looking forward to working with you,
USLAC
** This forum will NOT be centered on grievances about food or pricing (how very sad that we don’t run our store like Wal-Mart [???]). That’s what management and suggestion boxes are for.
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