POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — On any given day, a hungry student walking through the All Campus Dining Center (ACDC) will encounter a number of familiar images: long lines for the salad bar, big tables stocked with condiments and a staff buzzing from one task to the next. Though they all appear to be part of the same process, these staffers actually play several different roles in the dining hall. The work of arranging and preparing the food offered in the dining center is done by kitchen workers, chef helpers, assistant chefs, a head chef and the Aramark managers they report to.
Each individual plays their part to make up the theater of daily campus dining. In the wake of efforts to improve campus operations on an ever changing campus, however, Vassar Administrators are looking to consolidate the system, risking blending together these job descriptions. This interest has sparked grievances in Dec. 2014 against the college by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents the ACDC workers.
Since the recession, the college’s staffing levels have generally decreased. Associate VP for Human Resources Ruth Spencer explained in an emailed statement that the college’s staff size has decreased by 9 percent since peaking at 400 employees in Fall 2012. One primary cause for this decline is the voluntary retirement program, or ‘buyout program’ initiated by the college last December.
In a forum with the VSA on March 2, VP for Finance and Administration Bob Walton detailed the process of this buyout program. Employees with a certain number of years of service were offered a lump sum of money to retire voluntarily. In total, 68 staff members ended up taking the buyout program that ended last December.
The buyout intended to reduce labor costs and help offset the college’s current draw on the endowment. According to Walton at the VSA forum, the college hopes to soon reach a lower spending rate on the endowment while reducing its staff compared to peer institutions.
“I looked at how we spend our money and how other schools spend their money. What we found is that we have a lot more employees in service areas than our peer institutions,” he commented to the VSA.
In an emailed statement, Walton offered additional insight into how Vassar’s staffing compares to its peers after the buyout. In general, the college’s staffing is now near the median among its peers, save for a few supervisory positions in Buildings and Grounds. With cleaning staff, the college is still among the top four schools in our peer group, and with skill trades like carpenters and plumbers we are tied with the most staff per square foot of facilities. With dining, Walton noted that the statistics might not best describe Vassar’s staffing situation.
“The data says we are at the median, but my feeling is that due to many of the special improvements that we need to make in dining, we are slightly understaffed,” he stated.
But not all staff at Vassar buy Walton’s plan. ACDC worker and union representative for SEIU Cathy Bradford believes campus dining is more than slightly understaffed and needs more full time employees.
“We are understaffed because we are still missing spots in the workflow.” said Bradford responding to Walton’s analysis of the staffing situation at the ACDC. “The prep that needs to be done for tomorrow, I don’t have time to do.” she added.
Another issue Bradford expressed has to do with the various tasks ACDC employees complete when working. Before the buyout was finished, there used to be a cook position at the ACDC responsible for short order cooking and recipes at the grill and other tasks. Bradford and numerous other staff hold the position of chef helper, which according to their job description, involves assisting cooks and assistant chefs. When the only remaining cook retired, Vassar eliminated the position.
As Spencer explained, “The cook position was eliminated in ACDC because the person who had been in the cook’s classification was doing the work of a chef helper based on operational need for many years prior to retiring.”
She continued, “Once he retired the cook classification was not needed for the ACDC operation. He was the most senior cook.”
Bradford and numerous other ACDC staff however disagree. They believe that the college had instead incorporated the work involved with being a cook into the chef helper position over time. This is of concern to SEIU because the chef helper position is at a lower pay grade compared to the cook position, and that removing the cook position makes it difficult for chef helpers to fulfill the supportive role written into their job description.
Bradford’s and others’ disagreement over these issues has led to an ongoing grievance between SEIU and Aramark. Grievances are disputes that the union may send to Human Resources to resolve.
According to Bradford, this grievance in particular emerged as a dispute concerning Aramark managers assigning tasks outside of the job descriptions for certain staff. Though it isn’t always clear to a student grabbing a bowl of soup, when a chef helper sorts spoons they are in fact violating their contract. This same grievance extends to a dispute over tasks that demand more time and energy, such as working on the grill alone.
Grievances are processes through which unions can formally express concerns about the policies of the College. They come as a formal action after alternative methods are exhausted. Grievances first come to supervisors at Vassar. If both parties cannot come to an agreement, the grievance will go to arbitration by a third party until resolved. As President of SEIU and building painter Joe Maio explained in an interview, “If we’re not happy with the decision made at the manager’s level, then it goes to HR. And then after HR if we are not happy with the decision we can go to arbitration.”
He continued, “We don’t like going to arbitration, but lately with Walton’s administration it feels we’re being dared to go to arbitration.”