"B" works 24 to 28 hours per week at $8 an hour, below the $10.43 starting wage given to every permanent employee at Brown Dining Services, as a "limited duration employee." He also works over 40 hours per week at another company. He is not a workaholic - he says he has no choice. He must support his wife and two young children.
Sharpe Refectory workers, who requested to remain anonymous because they feared losing their jobs, told The Herald that temporary employees generally work harder than permanent employees because "you have to work very hard to get hired."
In response to the recent firing and rehiring of Valdi Williams, who worked for Brown Dining Services as a temporary employee for five years, President Ruth Simmons asked the Human Resources Advisory Board to investigate Brown's use of temporary employees. Williams was fired March 7 from her job as a dishwasher at the Ratty under a union contract, but was rehired April 20 after a University "problem resolution process."
One night, "B" mops the floor and washes dishes at a campus eatery, waiting for the end of his shift when he can finally go home. He has worked at Brown for more than seven months, but he has not applied for a permanent position because "there are people who have been here three to four years and are still working temp."
"People are here making $8.25 who have been here for very long," one worker said.
Two workers also said that employees are unaware of the duration of time for which they will be employed. "You're not told how long it will last," said one.
The Rhode Island Temporary Employee Protection Act mandates that employees be informed of the "estimated longevity of the assignment."
The Student Labor Alliance, which successfully pushed the University to rehire Williams, claims that "approximately 80 of 200 non-student workers are limited duration temporary workers," SLA member Chris Hu '06 wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.
One employee estimated that 21 to 22 limited duration workers work at the Ratty.
Brown Dining Services employs the vast majority of temporary workers, according to Vice President for Administration Walter Hunter. The Brown Bookstore also employs a significant number of temporary workers.
Many of the temporary workers in Brown Dining Services speak little English.
Temporary employees "typically work from three to six months," Hunter wrote in an e-mail.
Both temporary and permanent employees work at the same level of difficulty, many employees said. "They do the full time work and should be paid a little more," one Ratty employee said. "It's a demanding job."
Two permanent employees said they had worked for several years as temps before being hired.
"They don't get any benefits, no bonus time or sick time," one said.
BuDS Director Gretchen Willis did not respond to multiple requests for an interview this week.
Although many employees agreed that Brown students appreciate the work they do, they emphasized it is not easy.
"Brown is a very hard place to work for. We have to keep students satisfied," said a Ratty employee.
