Trammell Crow tries to ease fears of U. employees

Employees worry about what the outsourcing deal will mean to them. Why do we have to interview for our jobs again? Why are you taking away tuition benefits for our kids? Why do we have only one choice for a retirement plan? That's a sampling of the questions Trammell Crow Co. officials heard yesterday from University facilities managers, many of whom were anxious, angry, confused or still in shock over the University's recent decision to turn their jobs over to a for-profit company. Officials from Dallas-based Trammell Crow tried to allay such fears during a pair of two-hour sessions with about 130 Penn employees at the Sheraton University City hotel. Under a 10-year agreement signed Wednesday, the company will manage all of the University's on- and off-campus buildings as of March 18. "You guys took a hard hit of news yesterday, and we just wanted to give you the straight scoop," Trammell Crow Vice President for Human Resources Zita McLean told the Penn employees. Approximately 175 managers and support staff in the facilities management, residential housekeeping, residential maintenance and Physical Plant departments will have to interview with Trammell Crow to be eligible for the new jobs. The company is eliminating an unspecified number of positions. "There will not be quite as many jobs as there are today," McLean said. Trammell Crow Executive Vice President John Maher estimated Wednesday that his firm would employ between 110-150 workers to manage Penn's facilities, and would give University employees first crack at the positions. During yesterday's sessions, McLean and other officials explained the company's policies on health and retirement benefits, sick and vacation days and other procedures to the audience. But even after an open question-and-answer period, several employees said they still had unresolved concerns about the transition. One employee, who requested anonymity, complained that workers still do not have a list of the positions they can apply for in November. "All the answers should have been in place before this blew up," she said. In response to questions about whether anyone outside the University or within Trammell Crow would have a shot at the new positions, McLean stressed that University employees would be given the first opportunities to interview for and fill the jobs. But some workers said they are skeptical of such assurances. "The message to the employees seems sugar-coated right now," Housing Services employee Rashida Abdu said. "We're told our jobs aren't in jeopardy, but it doesn't sound like that at all." Many University employees were particularly upset that if they are rehired by Trammell Crow, they will lose tuition benefits for their families after 2001. Currently, the University pays 75 percent of employees' children's undergraduate tuition at the University, all of their tuition and fees at seven graduate schools and 75 percent at the other five. The University also subsidizes a portion of children's tuitions at other universities. University Staff and Labor Relations Director Jack Heuer said the tuition benefits are "probably one of the biggest issues that we have" with the agreement, emphasizing that the deal between Penn and Trammell Crow has not been finalized. Trammell Crow's retirement plan was another bone of contention for the University employees, who will have just one choice -- a 401(k) investment fund -- under their new employer. The University currently offers several pension plans, and money from the Penn plan can't be transferred to Trammell Crow's 401(k) plan, McLean said. Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Tammy Reiss contributed to this article.