Faculty Club employees wary over outsourcing

While the Faculty Club will definitely move into Sansom Common's Inn at Penn in fall 1999, nearly everything but the new location is still up in the air. The move will outsource the jobs of approximately 36 workers, since the relocated club will likely be managed by Doubletree Hotel Corp. Doubletree is currently in the final stages of negotiations to run the entire hotel. Until the deal is completed, however, the University will not be able to assess how many jobs will be available for current Faculty Club employees, according to Marie Witt, director of support services for Business Services. Although the new Faculty Club will be a little more than one-sixth the size of the current one, Witt said this does not necessarily indicate that fewer jobs will be available because Doubletree may require additional employees for restaurants, guest suites and meeting rooms in the Inn. Executive Vice President John Fry said last week that "plenty" of opportunities will be available for those employees. But despite such assurances, employees say they are concerned and angry with what they perceive as University officials "leaving them in limbo," Faculty Club employee Charles Carrington said. Some employees added that they are upset that the University has rewarded years of faithful service with the possible elimination of their jobs. "All of those years of working loyally, coming in during rain or snow and this is how they treat their employees -- they throw them out on the doorstep," Faculty Club employee Robert Bosworth said. And many are concerned about how the loss of a job or benefits would impact their families. "You have to realize that some people got six or seven kids -- some got as many as 10," Carrington said. "If you knock out 30 people, you hurt like 300." One worker who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the employees are waiting to see how their union, Local 374 of the Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union, handles the situation. He added that the union has been relatively unhelpful so far and has failed to indicate whether it will stand up for the employees or answer their questions. Local 374 Organizer and Business Agent Charles Murphy said the union is trying to help its members, but it has little information about the employees' future, since the University hasn't worked out all the details yet. "Our position is that we want everyone to maintain their jobs," Murphy said. "We understand their frustration, but we don't know what their employers are going to do either." Witt said she met with the non-unionized staff last week and will meet with union leaders Monday to explain what the University already knows -- which she admitted is very little of the actual plans or of the numbers of jobs available. But since the union workers' contract expires this summer, their jobs are not guaranteed, Witt said.

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