Campus Labor Union workers delivered cases of groceries to the office of the Memorial Union Director Mark Guthier to provide food for his family and to prevent him from cutting union-represented jobs Friday.

AFSCME Local 171 — a campus workers’ labor union — held the protest, because “Guthier has cut 16 union-represented jobs in the last two years in a desperate effort to feed his family … we’ve collected food to give to Mark [Guthier] so that he doesn’t have to cut anymore janitors just to put food on his table,” according to a release.

Disgruntled custodial workers brought cases of food including canned beans, 20-pound bags of rice and boxes of Malt-O-Meal Cinnamon Toasters to Guthier’s office, but he was not present to receive the “gifts.”

As a result of the Memorial Union administration’s refusal to accept Local 171’s food donation and the absence of Guthier, members of Local 171 brought the food to the Madison Food Pantry.

During a walk to Union South as Local 171 delivered food to his office, Guthier said janitorial positions were not cut, but unfilled after numerous employees left during the last two years.

“They’re not just union jobs — all the staff levels in the Union have been affected over the last two years as a direct result of the budget situation that the state is in,” Guthier said. “All of us are tightening our belts, and the sizes of our staffs have decreased as a result of the budget crisis.”

Guthier added he was unaware of the “food delivery,” and no jobs were cut to feed his family.

Meanwhile, Memorial Union Associate Director Ken Gibson talked with union workers at Guthier’s office, but declined to accept the food.

“I would suggest you come back when Mark [Guthier] is here,” Gibson told union workers. “We have certain needs, and sometimes we need to fill those with limited term employees … if you want to meet with me to talk about it, make an appointment.”

According to the union, limited term employees are hired by the Memorial Union at $7.25 per hour while union-represented members receive $9.79 with full benefits.

Despite Gibson’s decline of the food, Local 171 member Mike Imbrogno insisted the Memorial Union administration accept the food.

“It seems that if [Guthier] is not here, you’re the big cheese — it’s a gift really to the administration. We want to make sure that you’re not going hungry and your kids aren’t starving,” Imbrogno said. “You could maybe use the money that you’re saving to hire some people to do permanent work here that’s not being filled.”

Imbrogno said even with the higher wage of a union-represented worker, it is still difficult to make ends meet, although at least these workers can receive benefits.

“It’s hard raising a family on $9.50 an hour, but that’s slightly offset by the fact that we have health care and vacation time so folks can take care of their families to a better degree,” Imbrogno said. “Essentially, the same work is being done by LTE’s who are getting paid a fraction of that and have no benefits.”