UA budget ideas won't be adopted

Dining Service union workers are here to stay, despite an Undergraduate Assembly report recommending a hiring freeze on full-time workers, Dining Services Director Bill Canney said this week. Last February, the UA Budget Committee reviewed aspects of Dining Service budgets and submitted recommendations reducing costs on various budget items. While Canney said he welcomed the UA's cost-cutting report, he and Hospitality Services Director Donald Jacobs said some of the labor related recommendations are simply not feasible. Others have already been undertaken. The controversial labor recommendations cited union workers' high wages and recommended greater emphasis on hiring work-study students while placing a hiring freeze on the unionized workers. "It would be foolish to say that the union is not costing us money," Jacobs said. But replacing unionized workers with students who receive work-study grants would have severe drawbacks, he said. Managers across campus echoed Canney's sentiments. "I think [it] would be an impossible task," said Stouffer Dining Manager Addie Flowers. "To say its impossible is giving up without looking at any of the possibilities," Wharton sophomore and UA Chairperson Dan Debicella said. "I hope that they're taking student concern seriously and not just poo- pooing them because it would be easier." Debicella, a former member of the Budget Committee, was instrumental in putting the budget review together. Managers said the UA's labor suggestions have two primary problems -- work study students are currently in great demand across the University, and union workers actually save money through loyalty and commitment. "No amount of dedication in PENNcard swiping is worth $12 an hour," Debicella said regarding the second issue, citing the wages of union worker who check PENNcards. "There is a shortage of work-study students," said John Randolph, manager of Student Employment at the University's Student Financial Services about the first problem. He added that across the University, there are only about 3,400 students to fill over 5,000 positions. "It's always a good idea [to hire work-study students]?but we always have our difficulties recruiting," said Hill House Dining Commons Manager Stephen Finch. In fact, the shortage hits especially hard at Dining Services, where most jobs that involve manual labor compete with "desk jobs" elsewhere. "Right now, getting work study students to work for Dining Services is very hard," Flowers said. "They'd rather have the library [job]." Canney said Dining Services is already trying to replace unsubsidized student workers with work-study students. "Would I like 100 percent work study?" he said. "Let's have 100 percent work study and then we'll be fine." Former UA Budget Committee Chairperson Eric Leathers said that part of the committee's job is to make students aware of budget issues, even if administrators are already aware of them. "You can't take it for granted that administrators are doing everything they can," he said. Canney said at one time it was possible to hire solely work-study students for part-time positions, but today more students are opting for loans rather than work study grants. "They're more inclined to have a higher debt when they graduate," he said. Dealing with union issues can be even more complicated than work-study problems, the managers said. The University's 125 unionized Dining employees are part of a three- year contract which requires at least that number of hires. A hiring freeze would not comply with the contract, which gives the University only three weeks to fill vacancies. Leathers said the committee merely intends to influence administrators when the contract goes up for negotiation in 1995. Still, Canney said he does not plan to reduce the number of unionized workers in 1995, because they can actually save money. But Leathers said many union workers are performing unspecialized tasks. "We're talking about the cashiers, some of the people that are swiping cards," he said. Jacobs said, however, that their wage is not unreasonable for the number of years most have worked for Dining Services. "Obviously, if I ran a McDonald's, I could hire workers at $4.25 an hour," he said. Overall, Canney said, the report has been helpful. "I'm always open to suggestions," he said. "I thought it was a neat idea with the corporate sponsors." Canney added that the report's suggestion to cut redundant advertising costs was a good idea. He also cited other projects that have been implemented to cut costs. For example, Stouffer Dining Commons is an expensive building that may be renovated or destroyed, he said. "Now that's a building I want to blow up," said Canney.