To the Editor:
Recent articles in The Dartmouth (April 2, 1997) pertaining to the financial difficulties of Dartmouth Dining Services merit a response from SEIU Local 560, the union that represents DDS workers.
For the record, over two-thirds of the unionized DDS workforce earn below $12 per hour, not the $12 to $18 hourly rate, as one article claimed. Nor does a union bear any resemblance to communism: in reality, a union fosters democracy at the workplace by allowing worker participation in determining their hours, wages and working conditions. As for more work-study students displacing unionized staff so as to cut costs, this move can result in more, not less expense. Substituting a stable, permanent workforce with transient, low-wage replacements is not a sound way to manage a business entity that requires staffing 18 to 20 hours per day, seven days per week.
We are all proud of our wages, as being unionized is all about raising living standards for all working people. Blaming the worker is a knee-jerk reaction to the more serious issue at hand, which is the fiscal crisis of DDS.
We challenge the Dartmouth College community to step up to the plate with us and find ways to achieve cost savings at DDS. After all, the frontline workforce who prepare and serve daily meals are in an expert position to address the issues plaguing DDS today. We welcome this opportunity to sit down with students and management to find a resolution to this financial problem. Bashing workers is not the answer.
