U. workers protest contract

With the take over of The Book Store looming over the University community, current bookstore employees are becoming concerned about the status of their jobs. On July 1, the national bookstore chain, Barnes and Noble, will assume control of The Book Store. The store will be owned by the University, but managed by Barnes and Noble. It is slated to open in the fall of 1998. Book Store employees released a letter last week which explained their concerns regarding issues such as impending layoffs and benefit changes such as loss of tuition discounts. In the letter, employees question the details of the Barnes and Noble-Penn contract. "If Penn and Barnes and Noble are indeed going into a partnership, then why are our University benefits even an issue?" the letter reads. "Then why have we not been told anything about severance pay?" The letter also argues that the University has "stonewalled" employees regarding such issues. It accuses the University of "putting on a great show of 'holding our hands'." According to the letter, employees have also heard contradictory statements about issues such as whether or not they will have to re-apply for their jobs. According to University officials, employees are "presenting their skills to Barnes and Noble representatives in the hopes that they can find a place for [the employees] in their organization." The employees are only authorized to answer "no comment" to The Summer Pennsylvanian concerning this issue. James Gray, Chairperson of the African American Association of Faculty, Staff and Administrators -- a University group working to support all Bookstore employees -- said the suppression of their freedom of speech is a "fascist act." He also described the restriction as "unfair, inhuman and a violation of their human rights." "How do you ask someone who has been working at a job for a number of years to re-apply for their job?" Gray asked. He believes that annual reviews performed by managers would result in a more accurate evaluation of the skills of the employees. Gray also said workers depend on such benefits as the tuition discount for University employees. Gray said the University is "cruel and unfair" to not render the benefits that "loyal University employees" have accumulated over extended periods of time. "Many workers here are career employees who have and would continue to provide excellent and skillful service to the University," he said. Gray added that he feels the University's recent "out-sourcing" will have a negative effect on many employees' careers. The Barnes and Noble take over of The Book Store has also alarmed the University community retailers. Howard Gensler, a 1983 University graduate and owner of Classical Choice music store, said he feels the take-over will affect his business and the businesses around him. The new bookstore is scheduled to have a music section and a Starbucks coffee area, both of which, Gensler says, will decrease business for local retailers. "Doesn't the University owe something to the local retailers who have been loyal to it for years?" he said. "No one will talk to us -- no one has any answers."