As dining officials consider ARAMARK's proposal to assume management of four eateries on campus, members of the Duke community are scrutinizing the company's history. Pointing to complaints at other universities, some students-led by juniors Jonathan Harris and Snehal Patel-contend that the company serves poor-quality food and mistreats its employees.
Dining officials say these are isolated grievances, reflecting a rift between administrators and students that appears prevalent at other schools. And although he acknowledges that his company has had problems at some schools, Jack Donovan, Trinity '80 and president of the campus services division of ARAMARK, said the problems have not been unusual for a food-service company.
"I think the great news about technology and the Internet is that everyone has a voice. But some voices have been heard a little higher than might be appropriate," Donovan told students last Wednesday night at a meeting of the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee.
Some of those protesting voices have been coming from Yale University, which has used ARAMARK since 1998. "We found that when the food services got privatized, the accountability for quality disappeared," said Antony Dugdale, a spokesperson for Yale unions, including Local 35, which represents dining workers. "ARAMARK isn't so concerned about quality-just about their profits."
A Feb. 27 story in The Yale Daily News claimed that ARAMARK has not only reduced food quality since coming to Yale, but also has reduced selection and portion size. "ARAMARK, which is hamstrung by an expensive long-term agreement with a food provider, is dramatically lowering the amount it spends on meal production and cutting key foods from the menu," the student newspaper reported.
But Donovan said cost-cutting is a part of business and pleasing everyone is impossible. "It's one of the peculiarities of the food business," Donovan said. "I would be less than honest if I said that all the meals we serve are perfect.... [But] we're proud of our track record."
Danny Nelson, a student at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and a dining worker there, said students seem to think there has been a decline in food service since ARAMARK arrived on their campus. "I had low expectations because it was college food, but there has been a definite decline," he said. "All I eat now is salad, bread, cereal and ice cream."
At last Wednesday's meeting, Duke Director of Dining Services Jim Wulforst supported ARAMARK's record, citing his experiences with other schools. "I have been in touch with about 15 service administrators and vice presidents at schools around the South that use ARAMARK. There's overwhelming support there," he said.
The company's treatment of employees is an issue that is particularly sensitive for Duke. Peter Romer-Friedman, a labor activist and senior at Yale, said ARAMARK has actively worked against unions. "Low wages, no respect, harassment, no job security-these are just a few of the things ARAMARK provides its workers with," he said. Michigan recently signed a 10-year contract with the company that refused to recognize the workers' union and transferred them to other jobs with lower wages, no health insurance and few benefits, he added.
Under ARAMARK's current proposal with Duke, however, dining workers would retain their jobs with the University at the same wages and benefits. In addition, dining workers would remain on the University's payroll and managers would become employees of the company.
Dugdale said a similar structure exists at Yale, and that the setup has led to confusion and mismanagement.
"I know that the managers who are ARAMARK employees are really getting treated unfairly," said Dugdale, adding that employees have often been disciplined for giving out portions that are too big.
Administrators at other schools seemed pleased with ARAMARK's management style and overall services. Ed Gutauskas, director of dining services at the University of Virginia, said that ARAMARK has run the school's food services since 1989. "We're very satisfied. They offer a quality product, a strong management team, quality workers," Gutauskas said. "They've brought in a lot of changes since they've come, and my understanding is that the changes have all been positive."
But Rachel Paccione, chair of the Student Council dining committee at Virginia, said that students there are less than enthusiastic about ARAMARK. "I would say that ARAMARK's food is about average," she wrote in an e-mail. "It is definitely not something to brag about. I would not say the quality of food is fantastic, but they do seem to have a wide variety of food."
Steven Wright contributed to this story.
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