|
Return to Index of Campus Dining News Articles Return to Campus Dining Homepage
Source: The Wesleyan Argus Date: September 19, 2003 Byline: Brooke Lloyd Aramark employees spoke to students about the future of their positions at Wesleyan in a student-run meeting held Wednesday evening in PAC. Campus dining workers said they feel particularly threatened by the incorporation of Giuseppe’s Pizza and possible other Middletown restaurants into the points system because they believe that such a policy would draw students away from campus dining locations, reducing the hours contracted by Aramark and jeopardizing their jobs. Susan Silvestro, who has worked at Wesleyan for 17 years and is the vice president of the Local 217 Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, said she is strongly opposed to points moving off campus. “We don’t want jobs going down to Giuseppe’s or any where else,” Silvestro said. As an elected representative for Wesleyan Aramark employees, Silvestro said that she and her co-workers have been largely left out of the decision-making process that led to recent dining changes. Raquel Adorno, another representative for the worker coalition and 15-year employee, elaborated on Silvestro’s concern. “We fought a lot of years to build the standards on this campus, with the students’ help,” Adorno said. WSA President Sohana Punithakumar stressed that the Giuseppe’s program is experimental and is in no way designed to replace campus dining services. “It was my understanding that making Giuseppe’s an option was a great thing,” Punithakumar said. “We’re just trying it out with one restaurant…Since it’s not a permanent program, we’re willing to give it a shot.” Rose Aresco, part owner and manager of Giuseppe’s, said she was pleasantly surprised and honored last May when the WSA and Aramark contacted her restaurant to participate in the points system. At the time, however, Aresco said was unaware of the potential repercussions for Aramark workers. Under the initial guidelines, Aresco was told that the University would be including other restaurants in the points to town initiative. “They said there would be four or five restaurants in town,” said Aresco. “I guess somebody made the decision to take only one, and that was me, and that was my concern. Why only me?” Upon hearing from the WSA in the fall, Aresco discovered that she would essentially be running a pilot program for off-campus point usage. She was immediately concerned with this proposition, as it exposed her to a greater number of student customers, potentially overwhelming her staff and deterring her non-Wesleyan clientele. In response, Aresco spoke with Aramark to make certain adjustments to the agreement, limiting points-friendly hours to five and eight at night and making Friday night off-limits in order to make her Middletown regulars feel more comfortable. With the deal in the negotiation process, Aresco began preparations for the changes, hiring extra staff and installing a new phone line. Two and a half weeks into the semester, Aresco finds herself in a compromising position, inconveniently wedged between a pending contract with Aramark and the concerns of the workers union. “Unfortunately, I’m put in the middle where I do not belong.” Aresco said. “ I understand the point, the [workers] want to make sure they don’t lose their jobs.” Aresco has received multiple calls from the union attempting to convince her to delay points use at Giuseppe’s, and explaining the possible repercussions if she does not. Specifically, she was told that heavy picket lines in front of her restaurant could be bad for business. Aresco does not want to be in the middle of a battle that she is not really a part of. “I think that at this time it is very confusing what’s going on in campus,” Aresco said, referencing the recent cutbacks in worker hours. “And now the workers are beginning to blame me.” Aresco remains flattered by the students desire to dine at Guiseppe’s, but she stresses the importance of student consensus and support for the operation before a final decision is made. At the meeting on Wednesday night, workers pointed to the link between food quality and student satisfaction, suggesting that the desire for points to go off-campus stems from disenchantment with the services provided on-campus. Sharon Ward, who has served as a Wesleyan dining worker for 19 years, remembers when the staff included two bakers and a produce handler. “The students cannot settle, they must demand their basics back or it’s going to get worse every year,” Ward said. Senior Food Service Director Tim Reiss emphasized the role students have taken recently regarding campus dining options. “Most of the decisions, if not all of them, have been student driven,” Reiss said. “Right now we’re just trying to iron out the pieces.” “We have to be fiscally responsible because we’re stewards of your money,” he added. “We have to do what makes sense.” Even on campus, outside corporations provide food services in exhange for points. Both WesWings and the Red and Black Café are outside operated and owned. Giuseppe’s may develop into another successful example of non-Aramark points-use. The workers are angry at this trend, because they say that Aramark reaps 20 percent profit from all off-campus restaurants without spending money on labor or food supplies. Yet with the two sides— Giuseppe’s and the Wesleyan workers— left to negotiate some sort of solution, Aramark has slipped into the folds. “Two sides of the Middletown community are going against each other,” Adorno said. With the many sides in conflict, the issue now seems to rest in the hands of the student body and Wesleyan community. Students are becoming more and more interested in the issue, and would like to see Aramark take a more active role. “It’s a complicated issue, but its clear that Aramark needs to make a significant sacrifice if it wants to keep local businesses and Aramark workers happy,” said Byron Alex ’04 who attended the meeting.
Wesleyan University's student governing body. For questions regarding the website and its content, please email our webmaster. |