Several Wisconsin Union student workers are unsatisfied with working conditions at the Memorial Union and said the union has lost its ?student voice,? according to a letter sent to the Offices of the Dean of Students Wednesday.
Thirty-three students signed a letter sent to Assistant Dean of Students Suzanne Jones saying the Union has shortcomings ?with regard to the treatment of student workers, the Memorial Union building itself and management?s overall incompetent direction.?
According to a copy of the letter obtained by The Badger Herald, the signees include current and former student employees working at building services, Der Rathskeller, Hoofers, the dish room, kitchen and the Daily Scoop deli. Twenty-nine of the 33 signed names were listed as students on UW?s website.
In the letter, students accused the management ? most notably Union Assistant Director for Facilities Paul Broadhead ? of creating a ?hostile, stressful and unfavorable student working environment.?
According to the letter, Broadhead has worked at the Union since the spring of 2007 and cut the building services budget, leading shifts to be understaffed.
The students said with only 11 student employees on staff for 42 four-hour shifts that used to be filled by 25 workers, several workers have been asked to complete tasks not originally in their job description, like shoveling sidewalks outside Memorial Union?s jurisdiction.
?We fear that the Memorial Union is going to lose the student voice that carried it into prominence and importance for many organizations and students on this campus,? the letter says. ?Originally the Union was at the forefront of student unions across the nation; now, the centerpiece of the Wisconsin Union ? the students ? can?t even say they like it there.?
But Wisconsin Union President John Barnhardt, a UW senior, said Union staff makes every effort to ensure students ?are in the know about Union Council.? He added employees should voice their concerns to their managers or one of the student committees, rather than going ?going around to the dean of students? office.?
?The Union is always pushing for students, and I know it?s tough to see that when you get a letter from students complaining about management, but the leadership staff at the Union is very student-focused,? Barnhardt said.
Barnhardt added Broadhead is ?definitely different than the last assistant director,? but thinks he is ?fair, a hard worker and wants to make sure all the work gets done.?
UW spokesperson John Lucas said he does not think ODOS is the appropriate entity to receive this letter or respond to its contents. He added Union management or Union Council would be in a better position to address Union issues.
Jake Witter, a senior at the Madison Area Technical College and one of the letter?s signees, told The Badger Herald he quit his job at Der Rathskeller after a December incident in which five UW students were arrested and charged with theft.
According to Witter, nearly 20 student employees also quit their jobs in protest of how the management handled the incident, particularly the way he said students were handcuffed and taken from the Union.
For Witter, the new management ? including Assistant Director for Food Carl Korz and Der Rathskeller manager Jim Long ? has ?corporatized? the Union, and ?Paul Broadhead is a huge part of that.?
Two other employees who wished to remain anonymous independently corroborated Witter?s story.
?They quit either in protest or because they were scared of what was going on there,? Witter said. ?Either they didn?t want to be involved because they didn?t want to be disrespected that way, or they were just afraid for their well-being; nobody wants to be taken out in handcuffs like that.?
Witter was out of town when the incident happened and said he heard about it from several co-workers.
Broadhead and Marc Kennedy, Wisconsin Union communications director, did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment Wednesday evening.
