At the self-proclaimed social justice university, questionable circumstances surround the treatment of Loyola’s Orleans Room staff and the conditions they work in.

As long as she can remember, one employee said there has never been air-conditioning or heat in the OR kitchen, nor in the service areas. She said the conditions at times are unbearable.

“It is very cold in the salad department,” she said on condition of anonymity.

“Winter time we freeze, summertime we burn up.”

She and other staff members were reluctant to give their names, afraid they would be fired if they did.

The employee said the only ventilation in the kitchen is through the delivery door in the back, which is only partially open.

Many staff members have questioned whether these conditions are legal.

Carolyn Picard Bombet, an administrator in the Retail Food Program for the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, said a source of proper ventilation is required in food service kitchens.

“While there is no regulation that specifically states ‘air-conditioning’ as a requirement, regulations do say that one must have proper ventilation,” Bombet said. According to this standard, the OR does meet the legal requirement.

According to Christopher Cameron, director of Co-Curricular Activities, there are a number of factors playing into why there is no air-conditioning. The main reason, he said, is that the amount of power used by the Danna Center can’t support a cooling system in the kitchen.

Cameron said many ideas have been proposed to remedy the situation. One is to move the staff into the air-conditioned part of the OR, and go into the kitchen when it’s deemed necessary.

Another proposed solution is to install large, industrial-size fans in the kitchens during the Danna Center renovations. These fans could reduce the kitchen’s temperature by 30 to 40 degrees.

“The university has always known, has always attempted to address it,” Cameron said. “In the past, though, we didn’t have money for renovation.”

SCHEDULING CONFLICTS

Another source of conflict among the OR staff deals with scheduling. According to one staff member, if an employee is unable to work on the weekend, the hours from his weekday schedule are cut.

Vinny Bruno, head chef of the OR kitchen, said this is the most efficient way to ensure that the staff actually show up to work.

“This is a weekend profession,” Bruno said. “How can we tell the students that the reason why the food is bad on weekends is because everyone calls in off work? I’ve been in the business 20 years, and I’ve never seen anyone call in the way employees do around here. It was something we had to do.”

Others say that many staff members have quit, and Sodexho, the food services program that provides meals for Tulane and Loyola, has failed to hire new employees.

They say this has caused current staff members to be required to work on weekends, regardless of personal circumstances. Even Bruno and the crew supervisors take weekend shifts.

One staff member had conflicting schedules on a Saturday and was unable to work, and her hours were cut the following week.

“I’m here six days a week, working 12 hour shifts most days,” Bruno said. “When you’re scheduling 30 people, everyone’s not going to be happy.”

According to Ross Matthews, director of Human Resources, it is Sodexho, not Loyola, that employs the dining services staff. As a result, he said he was not aware of the controversy.

“I have not heard any such reports, but am willing to make inquiries into the matter,” Matthews said.

Not all staff members believe the rumors. One said most staff members just don’t want to work on the weekend. The employee did say, however, that more staff members need to be hired.

“One person cannot just be on the burger line, there’s just too many people, and we need more help,” the employee said.

Another staff member said she is treated well by her supervisors and works hard to support her daughter, who is away at college.

“I love the students here,” she said. “It’s what keeps me going.”

Vice-president for Student Affairs and associate provost Cissy Petty said change in leadership can sometimes cause uncomfortable feelings. But Petty said she has the utmost confidence in Ben Hartley, the new general manager of Sodexho at Loyola.

“I believe Mr. Hartley can take the dining program and turn it into a first class operation,” Petty said.

Hartley started working for Loyola’s dining services in October 2007. He said that at the end of the fall semester, dining services received feedback from students saying quality of food and service on weekdays was better than on the weekend. Hartley said he began making changes to the schedule to have more staff members work on the weekend.

“We restructured the schedule to have the people who have worked here the longest, our talent, to work on the weekends,” Hartley said.

Hartley said staff members are able to work however many hours a week they want, and benefits are extended for those people who work 30 or more hours a week.

He said that the dining services administration tries to make accommodations for staff members who request the weekends off.

“I’m very available, but we have an obligation to service our students, ” Hartley said.

‘HERE FOR THE

STUDENTS’

Bruno said he hopes to instill some of the work ethic he learned working for years in the kitchen at Commander’s Palace on Washington Avenue.

“There are a lot of people here with a lot of heart,” he said.

“When you’ve got people ready and willing to learn, it makes the job easy. But at the same time you’ve also got folks who are used to things being run the old way. For years, the employees seemed to be managing themselves. Now we’ve got to take the reins and change how people perceive their responsibilities.”

There have already been major strides in the kitchen, said Bruno. Many of the workers, despite the problems, find joy in learning the fundamentals of homemade cooking.

“The crew is used to taking stuff out of a can and heating it in an oven,” Bruno said.

“I think one of the greatest things they’ll take away from this is learning how to cook from scratch. One of our employees made bread for the first time in her life this year, and she has so much pride in it now.”

Two of the most important things Bruno said are necessary for a well-run service are customer happiness and employee growth.

“I want people who care. If we care, despite the working conditions and our personal problems, then it will reflect on our product. The students will be happy and the employees will be bettering themselves. We have to remember that we are really here for the students.”

Jauné Jackson can be reached at [email protected].

Jessica Williams can be reached at [email protected].