Dining halls meet corporate America

By Matt Matros

Shea Stadium, Mesa Verde National Park, and Yale University have something in common--and it's not that Mark McGwire can hit a baseball out of them. Aramark, an international management services company, now operates at all three locations. Here at Yale, Aramark's realm is the dining halls.

Beginning this semester, the new director of Yale University Dining Services (YUDS) is an Aramark employee, and Yale administrators expect two other top management positions to be filled by Aramark in the future.

The Class of 1999 can remember the bitter labor dispute that culminated in the spring 1996 strike by Locals 34 and 35, Yale's unionized dining hall and clerical workers. Now, some are questioning the University's motives for subcontracting dining hall management to Aramark.

"I think it's natural, those types of suspicions, We wanted to make sure that we selected the best candidate that we could," he said. "It was sort of secondary that we had to go through a service agency," Yale's executive director of student financial and administrative services Ernst Huff said.

Bob Proto, president of the Federation of University Employees and Local 35, is not convinced. He thinks the University might have other ideas in the works. "Yale may have a long-term plan of establishing another entity in the dining halls in the event of a labor dispute," he said.

The hiring of Aramark also affects Yale's dining hall managers, who are not unionized. They may soon be presented with the option of becoming Aramark employees. "Whether they would be employed by Aramark or employed by us is something we will discuss," Joseph Mullinix, Yale's vice president of finance and administration, said.

But Aramark has definitely arrived. Its employee Duane Clark started as director of YUDS 10 days ago. What led the University to this decision, and what does it mean for dining services at Yale?

When convention fails

Alan Kenney, JE '67, announced his retirement as YUDS director in February of this year, and the University began a search for a new director in April. Yale announced the position was vacant and conducted a major advertising campaign to attract candidates, Huff said. A committee met to review the applications and interview the candidates, and they turned down every applicant. None of them had both the experience and the ability necessary to run Yale's dining services, Huff said.

The University started to consider alternatives. "We began to look more heavily at contracting a portion of the management," Huff said.

The committee settled on Aramark and interviewed two of the company's employees for the position of director. They chose Clark, whose most recent position was director of Aramark's management services at the University of Delaware, a school with 17,000 undergraduates. Clark has been in the business of hospitality for almost 30 years. "I'm very excited," Clark said. "I think the University is right on the cusp of some major changes."

The University also plans to fill the chief fiscal and marketing positions at YUDS with Aramark employees. The question for many, though, is whether it will stop there.

The union's worries

The unionized workers in Yale's dining halls have specific job descriptions and wage scales defined in their contract with the University. Aramark, however, was not present when the contract was finally negotiated in the spring of 1996. Proto stresses that he cannot allow this change to alter any of the settlement's premises. "It's my responsibility...to make sure that the Aramark folks adhere to the conditions and guidelines in our contract," Proto said. He worries that the new management may not be mindful of these specifics.

Furthermore, Proto said, Aramark could provide an easy way for the University to operate the dining halls in the event of a labor dispute.

"My responsibility to my members is to make sure this is not a tactic by Yale to establish a management company in the dining services to make it easier for them in the event of a labor dispute to have first hand knowledge of the operations," he said.

Aramark's hiring has also prompted concern among the Federation of University Employees that subcontracting will become more common at Yale in general. "They're attempting to establish a workforce that is substandard with substandard wages and no benefits," Proto said at a union meeting Wednesday.

The union leadership is also concerned about the impact Aramark will have on the dining service itself. Meg Riccio, chief steward for the Federation, worries that the company just won't fit in. "Aramark is not a member of the Yale community per se, and my concern is that they will not continue with the service as it is," she said.

Would Yale ever convert the union workers into Aramark employees?

"Not without a fight," Proto said.

`Tapestry and chemistry'

Huff acknowledged that it is natural for Proto and other union members to be wary of Aramark's hiring, but he says Yale has no plans to increase subcontracting in general.

"There's absolutely no desire on the part of the University to replace any Yale employees with outside individuals," Huff said. He added that he does not foresee any attempt by Yale to make the union workers Aramark workers. "We've taken measures to be upfront with the union leadership," he said, "[and] assure them that it has no effect on them whatever."

The issue of subcontracting is often misunderstood, according to Mullinix. "When people talk about subcontracting of services they typically think about it in terms of the physical plant workers or the custodians and not in terms of management," he said. "We don't have an agenda of massive amounts of subcontracting at Yale."

Clark addressed concerns that Aramark will not be sufficiently part of the Yale community. He said he respects "the tradition and history" of Yale, and any changes he makes to dining services will preserve that tradition. According to Clark, Aramark is not a "cookie-cutter" operation. "We will be part of the tapestry and the chemistry of the University," he said.

On the drawing board

Still, Clark is new here, and he doesn't expect changes anytime soon. He does have a plan of action and a desire for his company to blend into the community.

"Food service is pretty simple," Clark said. When he assesses dining services, Clark said he will tell his employees, "Let's look at the customer; let's look at ease getting from point A to point B." Details on specific changes to the dining halls have not been forthcoming.

Huff did discuss some changes the University would like to see: the preparation of food close to the customer rather than in a kitchen invisible from the serving area, more variety in food choice, and more custom-made selections (omelets, for example). He recognizes that a discerning student body should expect these changes. "There's such a variety available now to consumers in the food arena and students are certainly no less savvy than the rest of us," Huff said.

Administrators said the renovations to the residential colleges will play a vital role in the improvement of dining services. "As [the colleges] are renovated, the serving and food preparation facilities within the residential colleges will be renovated as well," Huff said. Clark brings to this task his experience in hospitality service at stadiums, restaurants, and hotels.

Clark commended this summer's renovation of the Commons serving area, and hopes to see similar changes in other facilities. The new director's first step is to assess the state of Yale's dining operation so that he can determine which areas are most in need of improvement. "We're a new set of eyes, which will be very helpful," he said.

Choices, choices

The frontline managers of Yale's dining halls will be one of Clark's primary sources of information. They are also likely to be the first group of employees given the option to become Aramark employees. Most of the managers interviewed said they hadn't yet given much thought to whether they'd like to remain Yale employees or join the Aramark team.

"It would depend upon what one or the other has to offer," Jonathan Edwards Dining Hall Manager Bruce Harris said.

Most also said they felt strong ties to the University, which would factor into any decision. "Working for Yale for 18 years has been just excellent," Timothy Dwight College Dining Hall Manager Peter Wimmer said. "It's been a great place to work."

All the managers hoped to see changes for the better across the board at YUDS, but most wouldn't discuss specifics yet. And while all of the managers said it was too early to pass judgment on the job Aramark is doing at Yale, some admitted they weren't sure what to expect.

"It's tough to speculate," Harris said.

On tomorow's menu

No one--Aramark, the unions, or the Administration--knows exactly what's coming, but everyone has ideas.

Proto worries that hiring Aramark is the start of a trend to replace management at Yale with outside sources. "I don't think they're going to stop with the dining halls," Proto said. "It's not beyond them to subcontract management in custodial or physical plant."

The director of custodial services retired recently, so Yale will soon have the opportunity to reinforce or alleviate Proto's suspicions. A search for a new director is in its early stages, and Mullinix would not rule out the possibility of another managed services company.

"There's nothing that will stop us from doing that," he said. "At the present time we don't have a specific plan."

But Mullinix does not see this as cause for concern. "There is sometimes a thought that you bring in a contractor and that means there are all new employees in place--that's not envisioned at all," he said.

Clark envisions a partnership between Aramark and the University. "The tradition and the history of this university is just wonderful and I'm happy to be here," he said. According to Clark, Aramark will work to "create an environment where people want to learn" and "provide quality food and services in a clean, safe environment."

If only it were that simple. Yale's contract with its unions expires in 2002, and negotiations are expected to begin within two years, according to Proto.

"I have legitimate concerns right now...that we're going to have some growing pains with this management company," he said.

The managers are watching, not sure what to expect. The University expects greatness from the residential college renovations. The unions suspect Aramark won't honor their contract. And Clark, just happy to be here, may have to please them all.

Molly Ball contributed to this article.

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