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Abuse claims overblown
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by Letters to the Editor
Friday, February 29, 2008
We believe the article in yesterday’s The Badger Herald (“Union employees blast ‘incompetent’ managers,” Feb. 28), about a small number of student employees being upset with the Wisconsin Union management, misses some extremely important points.
The primary issue from the Union’s perspective is that our constituents — UW students as well as staff, faculty and Union members — are requesting that we do a better job at their Union. Market research indicates that UW students want our buildings to be cleaner, rooms to be set up properly for events, customer service to be better, food options to improve and the buildings to be properly maintained.
To accomplish this, we need to work more effectively and efficiently. In some instances, this means changing how we did things before. While a few people may not like changes in their work schedules and patterns, the focus has been on the needs of the greater student body, campus community and Union membership who have articulated that desire for us to improve in the aforementioned areas.
In some cases there has been increased accountability to make the most out of the segregated fees students are paying to maintain the buildings, so supervisors are now ensuring that employees don’t take excessively long breaks or study when they are supposed to be working. We’ve also increased efforts to ensure snow is shoveled properly to assist all members of the university community to enter our buildings. We are also increasing our attention to customer service. All of this has meant change for student and permanent staff members, some of which has not been easy.
Concerning the part of the article about theft in the Rathskeller, the former employees were charged Wednesday with embezzling nearly $15,000 from the Union. A Feb. 28 Wisconsin State Journal article reported at least one of the former employees confessed to the charges. That’s not just stealing from the Union; it’s stealing from other students who pay fees to operate the Union. We don’t believe that most student employees — or anyone else for that matter — think that’s OK.
It’s important to note that more than 700 students work at the Union. Only 33 current and former students (some of whom were fired due to the above incidents) chose to sign the letter. It is difficult to understand how less than 5 percent of the student staff represents the entire “student voice” at the Union.
The Union works hard every day to provide the campus with the best in programs and services. We are extremely proud of the work our student employees do to make that happen. In many cases, their contributions make the difference between how we move beyond providing simply ordinary to extraordinary customer service on a daily basis. To allow the thoughts and feelings of a few unhappy employees to misrepresent the hard work of hundreds of students is unfortunate.
Mark Guthier
Director
Wisconsin Union
mcguthier@wisc.edu
Anonymous (February 29, 2008 @ 2:50am):
There are 700 positions not 700 student workers you lying sack of shit.
Anonymous (February 29, 2008 @ 8:11am):
Actually, there are 706 living, breathing students working at the Wisconsin Union currently. I just checked the Human Resources database which keeps track of people, not positions.
Marc Kennedy
Communications Director
Wisconsin Union
Anonymous (February 29, 2008 @ 9:31am):
Figures that all the top people at WUD are checking this hourly to do damage control.
MULO!
Anonymous (February 29, 2008 @ 10:08am):
Where there's smoke there's fire
Anonymous (February 29, 2008 @ 10:13am):
Marc -
How is it that no employees will be laid off while Union South is torn down and Memoral Union is being renovated? Please justify why student fees for staff should actually increase during this time.
Anonymous (February 29, 2008 @ 11:08am):
how many managers have quit and how many are looking for other jobs. I don't blame the students for taking there complaint to the Dean of Students when lower management also face a hostile work place
Anonymous (February 29, 2008 @ 11:14am):
Marc-
You claim that since only a small fraction of students signed the complaint it should be ignored. That is the stupid thing I have ever heard in my life...seriously and I have taken physics 107 where kids asked questions about the earth going around the Sun. Anyways did you ever consider why no more students signed that slip of paper? Apparently not because you are too busy trying to make up lies to sweep this under the table. Here are two for you
1) The environment of Fear and Humiliation that students face in the union.
2)The fact that the managers do not need a reason to fire students.
The second one is probably the most important, any student can be fired at any time for no reason and thats a fact. Also if you are trying to save money and make the Union more economically viable why are employees spending thousands of dollars flying all over the country and staying in nice hotels to get an idea of "how other universities run their Unions"? That is a fact Marc, you cannot deny it. And what about the huge offices being built in the Union while human waste water sprayed over all of the dishes last summer...are your priorities in line? I am a student employee and I write this anonymously because you could can my ass in a minute. I know what is really going on in the Union and dont think you can treat students like this for long...we just wont take it
Anonymous (February 29, 2008 @ 11:20am):
MULO: A UNION FOR THE UNION!
Anonymous (February 29, 2008 @ 11:52am):
MARC I LOVE HOW YOU NEVER CAME ON THE RECORD AND ADDRESSED THE PEETS' COFFEE SHOP MATTER. WHY DON'T YOU TELL US WHY YOU RUSHED A COFFEE SHOP INTO THE UNOIN WITH NEXT TO NONE STUDENT SUPPORT?
A FEW WEEKS AGO YOU WERE WILLING TO EXCEPT THE OPINONS OF A SMALL NUMBER OF STUDENTS SO YOU COULD GET YOUR PEET'S COFFEE SHOP, WHILE COMPLETELY IGNORING THE REST OF THE STUDENT BODY. TODAY YOU ARE WILLING TO WRITE OFF A SMALL NUMBER OF PISSED STUDENTS IN ORDER TO RUN THE UNION IN YOUR FASCIST WAYS. THIS IS TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY, TYRANNY OF THE MINORITY AND TYRNANNY OF THE UNION DIRECTORS.
Anonymous (February 29, 2008 @ 1:09pm):
To the people who seem not to have it straight...Union management and WUD are NOT the same thing. Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) is in change of student programming at the Union and the WUD president sits on Union council. Marc Kennedy works for the Wisconsin Union, not WUD.
Anonymous (February 29, 2008 @ 3:03pm):
"The fact that the managers do not need a reason to fire students."
That would be the dreaded "At Will Employment", which is in place for 98.9% of all jobs you'd get with a college degree.
Anonymous (February 29, 2008 @ 4:42pm):
Let's see, I'll try to address the issues that are addressable one by one:
--Union South coming down. The goal is not to lay off any employees when US comes down. Transition teams are working now to figure it out. Food service staff will be reassigned to existing and newly opened delis and restaurants (such as ICU Deli is expanding, a new food operation in Grainger and the coffeehouse in Memorial); the storeroom is moving to the former UHS building. Facilities and tech maintenance folks are moving to Memorial where there is plenty of work to do. Seg fees are earmarked as "building ready for use" but they fall far short and will continue to do so even with US down. The shortfall will continued to be covered by operating revenues.
Managers do need reasons to fire students according to HR: theft, persistent absenteeism or consistent failure to perform assigned duties. I believe they get two or three warnings before termination; I'll have to double check that. And there is a grievance process; the student can go to the assistant director of that unit if he or she so desires. HR assures me that you can't be fired for having an opinion even if it's a negative one about working at the Union, but if it still bothers you by all means remain anonymous.
Flying around the country to visit other student unions: true that has occurred, and was paid for with operating revenue. It's part of doing due diligence when constructing a $90+ million dollar building project (new south campus union and renovating Memorial).
I can't comment on the human waste item because I've heard nothing about it. Please elaborate and I'll see what I can find out. I'm guessing it's related to the need to renovate the plumbing but I won't know until I get more information.
Best regards,
Marc Kennedy
Communications Director
Wisconsin Union
Anonymous (February 29, 2008 @ 6:22pm):
OK,now that we know that Marc Kennedy is not a member of WUD ...He is in fact the PR man for the Union and he responded to this blog representing the Union..He needs to reply...The students are not the only ones working in a hostile work place....Pack a lunch Marc this one is not going away
Anonymous (February 29, 2008 @ 6:25pm):
Marc,
How about you address the Peet's Coffee Shop issue. It surely seems to be a relevant one that you are ignoring.
Thank you!
Anonymous (February 29, 2008 @ 7:41pm):
"Managers do need reasons to fire students according to HR: theft, persistent absenteeism or consistent failure to perform assigned duties."
-What about Alyson and James?...both where ordered to get fired inmediately without violating any of the above..yes, there are rumors they were taking a break, so what?, hotel shifts are 4 hours, which means they are entitled for a 15 min. break, BUT, no hotel people showed up on that day and these guys had to go up there to cover you guys ass..and the job got done quickly...but apparently a "customer saw them taking a break in the hotel" and they got fired.
Anonymous (February 29, 2008 @ 9:11pm):
The union workers are also paying segregated fees. A few years ago they lost the voting on the referendum, and curiously they came back with an âimprovedâ campaign to convince students on voting "yes" on the next one... a little while after they lost, a "super flood" took place in the games room/basement area, damaging the art storage room, which obviously became a main point in their second campaign...real convenient, isn't it?, well, I worked there during that time and I was one of the few who saw what they called "a dangerous mold strain", they shut down the games room and the adjacent areas...the lethal mold was about 6 feet long, 4 feet wide, yet they widespread panic into the student- workers community..in the second referendum they also offered "the living wage", ok, lots of students voted "yes" only because of that..guess what, after they won they curiously said that the living wage was going to be initially for LTE's, and that it was going to benefit the students "in a few months, in July(like 9 months after the referendum took place)"..great....well, systematically they got rid of the LTE's and when July came they said the living wage was NOT going throughâ¦that student workers would be making the great starting salary of $7.30/hour...and now the rathskeller people are not even allowed to take tips..sounds good...the union claims 5% is just too little, well, I do not agree, cause regardless of what the 5 people from the rathskeller did, there are more students with concerns and the fact that they went to the dean of students instead of going to the union council tells you something...even if you ask some classified union employees, they would agree on the fact that the "students concerns get buried by the union council over a nice meal"..at convenience, of course. I bet many students did not sign that letter because of fear, well, you guys pay THOUSANDS of dollars for tuition, thousands more in segregated fees over your student career...that's a lot of money, the union said today that 5% of the student workers is "insignificant", yesterday they said that those students should have come to the union council, that they were there to help. Regardless of what your point of view is on this matter, you students should ALWAYS say what you think to whoever you want to say it to at any time, you pay a lot of money for attending this university, stick to your rights, and I applaud the "insignificant 5% union student workers".
Anonymous (March 1, 2008 @ 1:06pm):
âin the second referendum they also offered "the living wage", ok, lots of students voted "yes" only because of that..guess what, after they won they curiously said that the living wage was going to be initially for LTE's, and that it was going to benefit the students "in a few months, in July(like 9 months after the referendum took place)"
The Wisconsin Union implemented a living wage for the LTEs before the Union building project referendum had even passed. Feel free to contact the Union HR department to get a copy of the Union Council minutes from August or September of 2006.
In terms of the Living Wage for students, the Chancellor of the University sets such wages. Because the Wisconsin Union is a creature of the university, it must take direction from Vice Chancellor Darrell Bazzell and Chancellor John Wiley.
************If you want to fight about student wages, letters and phone calls to their offices are much more appropriate.
â..great....well, systematically they got rid of the LTE'sâ
The Wisconsin Union has been a part of a campus working groupâfacilitated and initiated by the Student Labor Action Coalition (yay!)âto reduce the use of LTEs on campus and convert them into FTE positions. In this respect, the Wisconsin Union has been a leader across campus by converting LTE positions at a faster rate and in a more responsive manner than the other units on campus (libraries, athletics, housing, facilities planning & management (fp&m), rec. sports, and UHS).
************If you want to fight the conversion of LTEs, letters and phone calls to Darrell Bazzell, SLAC, and the campus committee are much more appropriate.
âand now the rathskeller people are not even allowed to take tips..sounds good...â
This has never been allowed. It is illegal BY STATE LAW. I canât tell you how âhardâ the stiftskeller job must be when they close the taps to the public at 10pm and sit in a booth together, drinking pitchersâstill clocked in, Iâm sure. Iâm also sure itâs an awful atmosphere to work at the Brat Stand on the Terrace in the summer nights rather than in a stuffy bar on state. At any rate, tips are not allowed by the state.
*************If you want to fight for tips, letters and phone calls to your state representative is much more appropriate. To find out who your representative is, please visit: http://waml.legis.state.wi.us/
That is all for now.
Anonymous (March 1, 2008 @ 6:27pm):
It has also been a leader in letting the LTE's go without notice...."Hi, how are you today?...you know what, your hours are up, thanks for your help"
Anonymous (March 1, 2008 @ 6:44pm):
"If you want to fight the conversion of LTEs, letters and phone calls to Darrell Bazzell, SLAC, and the campus committee are much more appropriate"
Maybe you guys should have told that to the old sound guy(and his two kids) who did an outstanding work for years, but he was never converted to full-time, instead he showed up for work one day and you guys said bye-bye on the spot because somebody more qualified was hired for the job...hahaha...that turned out good.
Anonymous (March 1, 2008 @ 8:03pm):
"The Wisconsin Union implemented a living wage for the LTEs before the Union building project referendum had even passed."
There are two problems here. The campus LTE policy working group was convened after SLAC and others tanked the WUFIP initiative. There it was decided that LTEs would be converted to full time employees, and paid a living wage along with the benefits afforded to classified staff. However, many of these positions have been turned into student positions to save money and limit the bargaining strength of unions like 171.
In the next ASM election, we saw the notable passing (3 times I would add) of the Living Wage Referendum. The first two times this was passed, the WUFIP spawn failed, and slight technicalities were used to toss out both results. The third time, both passed, yet the Living Wage stipulations were not followed. The language was in fact added to ASM Bylaws, yet even ASM has not had the guts to stand up to Wiley and act upon it.
more problems: SLAC never "facilitated" the working group meetings. I would argue that the group was formed in response to SLAC's concerns, but students were given three seats out of about 15, and could neither control the direction nor sway votes of the group. Even including labor leaders and workers on the committee, this bloc was still outnumbered by administrators. After the policy was signed by Wiley on 10/3/06, the group was disbanded, and conversion is now the responsibility of the individual units, with oversight from the central UW administration. SLAC, nor any students for that matter, are in any way involved in the conversion process, and short of mounting a new campaign, have little control over how this process is followed. (so don't contact SLAC or the now-defunct working group.) As for the part about the Union converting the fastest, please present some data because that is quite debatable.
I appreciate the effort of WUD folks to stick up for their administrators, but come on-- they aren't even respecting you by telling you the truth, or respecting students by following our decisions.
ASM needs to take a stand for the sake of the students they intend to represent. But student workers (and all workers) must be given channels to pursue grievances. MULO was a manager-controlled union, but one of the best means of representation student workers, LTEs and Classified staff have had at the Union. Unfortunately, this was shut down by the management itself in a very deceptive and possibly illegal way. Workers should take the initiative and reform MULO or an even more-representative body to protect their interests. The old MULO still has some assets in bank accounts and held by former members and allies, which I'm assuming will make themselves available when called upon or needed.
Best of luck student workers, LTEs and represented workers, the rest of the campus is pulling for you.
Anonymous (March 2, 2008 @ 11:11pm):
Marc,
You say "HR assures me that you can't be fired for having an opinion even if it's a negative one about working at the Union." What about the two Rathskeller supervisors who were asked to resign in December simply because Jim Long knew that they would have a negative opinion about working at the Union under his new management style? Granted they weren't fired, but how could they stay and work for a boss who asked for their resignations? What about the controversy surrounding John Peek's resignation?
A concerned party.
Anonymous (March 7, 2008 @ 7:06am):
It looks very much like a few employees are feeling VERY entitled to much that they would NOT be entitled to in the real working world.
If you were in the private sector and acted like your employer owed you everything, then you might make some waves, but you'd be out of a job!
Trust me, the way to make changes are from working positively within an organization, and not trying to lob a bombshell negative media blitz campaign or negative petitions against them.
And you're surprised Union Management doesn't trust you or treat you with respect?
The negative campaigns will only make you feel better, NEVER work to accomplish your goals.
You all need a lot of growing if you're going to make it in the "real" world.
Anonymous (March 11, 2008 @ 9:36pm):
There may be over 700 students employed by the Union, but not all of them work at the Memorial Union itself. Work used to be amazing . . . not because we had less accountability, but because we were trusted to know how to do our jobs. The next time an over obsessed manager breathes down my neck about pleasing the customer, I'm going to ask a 'customer' their opinion.
And let me tell you, we get a lot more thank yous from patrons than from our supervisors.
terry kline (March 17, 2008 @ 1:35pm):
hello-
f.y.i.
student labor action coalition leaders at u.w. madison bailed on a chance to organize student and state l.t.e. workers (limited term employees) when a petition of over 100 names provided by s.l.a.c. went before madison attorney bruce ehlke Hawks Quindel Ehlke & Perry, S.C. and asfcme council 24 attorneys http://www.wseu-24.org for a grade classification lawsuit. the loosely formed m.u.l.o. -the former unregistered union that represented grievances at the memorial unions -dissolved when the business agent with the check book got tired of waiting for the councils response and failed to renew the m.u.l.o contract and donated the monies left over (if any) to s.l.a.c.
if you want to do some hard core investigative labor journalism i suggest you start right here on campus rather that to direct your readers to the divided interests of these student leaders.
i can be consulted for more details if you care to run the truth.
terry kline
former l.t.e. sound and lighting technician
memorial union for 20 continuous years
fired for misconduct and insubordination last year
and winner of unemployment compensation challenge by thomas garcia human resources director of memorial union (recruited from the prison hr system by uw)
and i'm now suing u.w. in safety retaliation whistleblower court this summer with my own money.
have a nice day
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