Penn Pavilion workers to shift positions after West Union opens

Penn Pavilion workers will take on new roles at the University when the revamped West Union opens later this year.

The newly-renovated West Union is expected to reopen this Fall, and Penn Pavilion—which was designed as a temporary dining facility during West Union’s construction—will be transformed into a meeting and events space. To help with the transition, Duke has offered current Penn employees the opportunity to work at Marketplace, transfer to another department such as housekeeping or facilities management or receive an early retirement package if eligible, said William Minor, a Penn utility worker. Several workers expressed concern over their new positions, though many have chosen to continue working on campus. 

“They helped us find jobs outside of dining services,” Minor said. “It’s not like they said ‘go and find yourselves your own job.’”

Minor explained that workers who initially moved to Penn after the West Union closed for renovations were told by the administration that they would not return to West Union after its completion because their salaries “were too high” and they “made too much money” because of their union membership. He said that the workers have contributed to Penn’s profitability and that they deserve to be able to work in West Union.

All on-campus food vendors will pay full-time employees who work at least 30 hours a week the Duke minimum wage of $12 an hour by July, Vice President for Administration Kyle Cavanaugh wrote in an email. Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, noted in an email that the rates for those working less than 30 hours a week vary depending on the vendor.

Minor explained that many Penn workers’ hours are reduced significantly during the summer from 40 hours a week to about five hours a week.

“These jobs are probably minimum wage outside of Duke, we understand that, but the money we make, because of the time we spend off, doesn’t really add up,” he said. 

Many workers have said that they want to stay on West Campus instead of relocating to other areas, said Barbara Phelmetta, a lead production worker at Penn. 

Joyce Johnson, a food service worker at Penn, noted that Marketplace workers will be expected to work more often on weekends than they did at Penn.

“It blows,” Johnson said. “I’ve been here for around 36 years. What would I want to go over there for?”

However, the salaries of workers transferring from Penn to Marketplace are expected to remain the same, said Demmari Bagley, another Penn employee.

Some workers have also expressed concerns that all of the food venues on West will be franchises—such as McDonald’s and Au Bon Pain—when Penn stops serving food. 

The use of various food vendors to provide different food options was “central to the new model” of creating a “new dining experience in West Union,” Moneta wrote. He explained that Duke Dining has worked with student groups in designing this new experience. 

Julia Anderson, a Penn food service worker, noted that the change creates lack of authentic Duke Dining on West Campus.

“I am disappointed Duke Dining isn’t going to be on West,” she said. “I’ve been on West since 1984. I’m sad that I’m not going to be here.”