Last night the Thayer Hall kitchen was bustling with roving cooks, noisy timers, clouds of steam and glinting trays. Although work proceeded as usual, all was not well in the minds of Dartmouth Dining Services' full-time employees.
DDS employees are worried they could lose their jobs if the College decides to scale back or eliminate residential dining at Dartmouth. Students are voting today through Thursday on a referendum to assess whether students support scaling back DDS to prevent implementation of a proposed mandatory non-refundable $800 per term meal plan.
College Treasurer Lyn Hutton told The Dartmouth in an e-mail message, "The administration will try to be responsive to the majority will of the student body as expressed by the survey/referendum."
The possibility of downsizing is making some DDS union employees nervous about their jobs. Union 560 Local President Earl Sweet said employees are expecting the worst.
Tom Chapman, a cook in Westside Buffet and Union 560 steward, said, "It's very scary ... We've got people who've worked here for 30 years. This is what they do. This is their lives."
Mike Tully, a five-year veteran of the Food Court grill who is also a Union 560 steward, said he hopes students will look carefully at the issues before casting a vote. "These people depend on their jobs to take care of their families," he said.
Sweet said he doubts students have an accurate understanding of what and who is to blame for DDS's financial woes. DDS is expected to lose $600,000 in the next year.
"Why weren't there complaints before now?" he said.
Sweet said he is concerned the long-term fate of DDS could be determined by students who will only be at Dartmouth for a few more years. Sweet and Tully said the referendum continues a long trend of ignoring the voice of DDS employees.
Workers "have never had a say," Sweet said. "I don't want to sit here and slam management ... but there's a problem" management has failed to address.
Sweet said the elimination of the $910 minimum in 1995 has come back to haunt Director of Dining Services Pete Napolitano. "It's hard to get something back after giving it away," he said.
Chapman said student criticism of the quality of DDS food and service is hitting workers hard. After years of committing themselves to the students, "it hurts," he said.
Tully said some students have portrayed DDS employees as overpaid and underworked. But he said such a portrait is incorrect.
"They aren't looking at the whole picture," Tully said. "In this business, there are fast and slow times ... That's food service."
Tully said DDS employees are not overpaid. He said DDS pays them what they are worth.
"We're valuable," he said. "My customers know me and love me for what I do."
Tully said outright elimination of DDS would leave students with a shortage of eating alternatives.
"Do 2,000 kids expect to go through Lou's" for lunch? he said. "They'll be there until seven at night."
Robin Jenks, who has been a DDS employee for the last 20 years, said he is confident the lack of dining alternatives will keep DDS alive.
"I'd be very surprised if they shut the place down," he said. The students "have got to eat somewhere."
