The Chartwells workers in the University Center’s cafeteria learned their company wouldn’t work with The New School anymore the same day that everyone else at the school did.
Employees who were in the cafeteria on March 5 learned about the change in person, but were told few other details about what will happen after July 1, when university officials will let their contract with Chartwells lapse.
In a university-wide email sent March 5, Stephen Stabile, vice president for finance and business and treasurer, announced that The New School is transitioning from using the Chartwells/Compass USA to directly running cafeteria operations.
In the email, Stabile described the decision the change and provided other specifics about the “opportunity for new student jobs” in the cafeteria and an increased focus on sustainability.
“What our dining services look like even today is not typical of Chartwells,” Stabile said in an interview with the Free Press. Chartwells operates in 270 colleges and universities. Moving operations in-house will make “a dining program that is adaptable to what students are looking for now [and] can be even more sustainable,” Stabile said. “Chartwells wasn’t really able to do a lot of that for us. That is the bottom line.”
Asked if current cafeteria workers would receive preference when applying for the new positions, Stabile said “I wouldn’t say preference, no, but they’ve all been spoken to and encouraged to apply for jobs.” Some of the new positions will require different skill sets, including increased data processing and inventory tracking capabilities.
There are currently “approximately 45” cafeteria workers, most of whom are full-time during the academic year, according to Ed Verdi, senior director of business operations. Verdi said he expects to have the same amount of cafeteria employees under The New School, but did not know how many student positions will be offered.
A cafeteria worker, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing their employment, said their supervisor encouraged current workers to apply for positions. The cafeteria worker was excited about the prospect of students working in the cafeteria. “You all should apply so you can see what we go through. You can see why we’re always in here grumpy,” they said. “When they announced it yesterday [we said] we hope [students] apply because we want you to be here. It’s fucking bullshit.”
Another 39-year-old cafeteria worker, who also asked to remain anonymous, said staff did not receive much information. “As far as the details and the specifics, that we’re not aware of. We were just made aware that there is a transition taking place.”
Current cafeteria workers are unionized with other Chartwells locations as members of UNITE HERE Local 100, according to Stabile. University officials “can’t predict” if future cafeteria workers will unionize.
The Service Employees International Union 32BJ represents New School employees in maintenance and security. SEIU also represents food service workers, though not currently at The New School.
Pay and benefits may change under the new plan. Administrators hope to hire candidates with data and finance management skills, which Stabile said would allow for better tracking of consumption patterns. Improving the tracking system is intended to better accommodate student requests and cut overproduction, in turn reducing food waste. With new skill requirements, “there will likely be some changes in pay,” Stabile said.
As New School employees, full-time cafeteria workers will be offered tuition waivers as part of their compensation, allowing employees and family members to enroll in New School courses with tuition and fees covered.
Other changes could affect food prices and selection, which have long been sources of ire for students. Stabile said that potential price changes are “hard for us to say right now,” but noted that food services are not profitable for the university. “We only charge enough to cover the food and the labor to provide it, but there’s no profit being generated. To the extent that we’re able to eliminate third-party cost and whatever, we’re able to be a little more fiscally responsible,” Stabile said.
The cafe in the List Center and the Lang cafe, which is slated to open later this month, will continue to be operated by O Cafe. Employees are direct employees of O Cafe, not The New School. Operations for both cafes “will continue as planned,” Stabile said.
Photo by Siri Chilukuri / Additional reporting by Truman Ports