Students gathered Tuesday to hear from a panel of over fifteen custodial and food service workers, sub-contracted through Aramark, about their treatment on the job.
This worker speak-out, held in MGC 5, was organized by AU’s Student Worker Alliance following recent incidents surrounding workers’ rights, working conditions and the arrest of former staff member and professor Jim McCabe.
During the panel many of the workers expressed frustration about the lack of staff and the lack of benefits being provided by Aramark.
“Right now we are being over worked, we are understaffed, people aren’t getting their benefits,” said one TDR worker who had been worked in the dining hall for over a decade. “Instead we are getting our hours cut because [Aramark] says there has been a reduction in business, which isn’t true.”
Workers also brought up the discomfort of the working sites and the affect conditions sometimes have on the workers’ attitudes and well-being.
“You try to do the best you can for the students because that’s our job, but when we have managers and supervisors who are not having our back as far as hiring more people or changing hours it’s hard,” a Subway staff member said. “We are working seven to eight hours straight, we are on our feet, on hard concrete with no mat, the least [Aramark] can do is make it comfortable.”
One Freshii employee also talked about wanting to provide a good dining experience for students but not having the support and aid from management.
“I [would] like to provide the best service I can for the students, and as workers here we try to do that to the best of our ability, but sometimes with the company not providing the proper tools or the adequate hours it can be hard,” the Freshii employee said. “We can’t be expected to work at that pace, while getting paid at those rates.”
Staff members also described the workplace as unstable and dysfunctional due to the constant change in personnel and management.
“A lot of our managers and supervisors have been fired, then Aramark has been bringing in new managers from different places,” the worker from TDR said. “We don’t even know who these managers are. They have been working with us for about three weeks now and still haven’t introduced themselves, and they never asked us what we need or what the students need.”
The movement to improve workers rights’ has been an ongoing issue at AU and gained additional support on campus after McCabe’s arrest. SWA and other organizations such as the Exploited Wonk campaign have been working since last year alongside Aramark workers to improve conditions, according to a second worker from TDR.
The workers did not limit themselves to discussing their stories during the panel. They were also vocal about the power of student activism and its importance in addressing issues like the mistreatment of workers.
“[Students] can speak up, you are not in a prison. No one is giving you anything, you are paying for it,” a P.O.D. Market worker said. “Don’t be scared because you are young. Don't be intimidated because you are young. Take action because you’re young.”
AU’s custodial workers are also sub-contracted through Aramark, and a few attending the Tuesday event also said they feel mistreated.
“We try to do the best we can for the students, but something changed when Aramark took over,” a main campus custodial worker said. “I’m coming here because after [professor McCabe] was arrested, the staff are scared, and no one wants to come in and talk. When somebody starts talking they [management] move them to another place. We aren’t allowed to eat with people, we have to eat alone in a location assigned by Aramark.”
Many of the students present at the speak-out expressed outrage and disapproval with how the workers are reportedly being treated by managers.
“I full-heartedly blame AU for devising this human rights scandal, then being negligent in possible solutions, and I blame Aramark for their exploitations,” School of International Service junior Jacob Schmidt said. “The real issue is that our fellow University staff are being systematically alienated from being part of our campus, from having a relationship with our students, because Aramark is scared to show the true injustice of their profit-driven machine.”
Some, including Schmidt, have now turned their frustration with University labor contracting practices against the AU administration, with many students no longer blaming only Aramark for alleged mistreatment.
“This disrespect, and utter dehumanization of the people behind their labor is sickening,” Schmidt said. “As students and participants of this so called ‘progressive’ university we have the duty to stand up for their rights.”
