BuDS workers are planning to submit a petition to their managers opposing a no-homework policy that managers introduced last month.
Signers of the petition, which was organized by BuDS supervisor Yanely Espinal '11, want revisions to the new regulation, which formally prohibits all non-cashier workers and Blue Room cashiers from doing homework on the job.
"My argument was that I thought the no-homework policy was unfair, and I was trying to get rid of it," Espinal said. She said she hopes to get 100 signatures by the time she presents the petition today.
But Espinal said she realized it was unlikely that BuDS management would completely repeal the new regulation. Instead, the petition takes issue with how the policy was introduced - it was written into workers' contracts, and those who didn't sign the new contract received formal warnings.
"We just thought it was completely unfair that we received formal warnings," Espinal said, adding that about 120 students received them. Students who received the warnings - either because they refused to sign the new contract or were unaware that they had to - had their annual bonuses revoked.
Many students who did not sign the new contract were unaware that they had to do so by the Jan. 30 deadline, Espinal said, a concern she addressed in the petition.
The petition's demands also include a system that takes into account input from current supervisors and direct student involvement in crafting the revised policy.
The new policy was written by 10 unit managers, Espinal said, adding that the lack of broad input added to the regulation's unfairness.
Though BuDS management has since decided not to count the formal warnings toward the number of allowable infractions that can ultimately affect workers' employment and possible termination, Espinal said she thought the warnings should be completely voided. Under the current provisions, workers still must work extra hours for their bonuses to be reinstated, she said.
Former BuDS general manager Cindy Swain '09, who introduced the formal policy with current BuDS general manager Alex Hartley '10, said late last month she was aware that a petition was circulating among BuDS workers, but, at the time, she was uncertain when she would receive the formal appeal.
"Officially, there hasn't been any more development as of right now," Swain told The Herald Sunday night. But Swain said she now expects BuDS workers to submit
the petition today.
BuDS management will have a meeting to discuss the petition once it is formally presented, Swain said. But, she added, "We don't really have a planned outcome."
Espinal said it was Swain who asked her to have the petition ready today. According to Espinal, Swain made the request at a meeting between management and concerned supervisors that was held when the no-homework policy was first introduced.
Espinal said she originally intended to circulate the petition to workers during their shifts, but she ultimately felt that "probably wasn't a good idea" because she didn't want workers to feel pressure while on the job. Espinal has recruited signatories primarily by e-mail instead.
"Personally, I think that it kind of hurt us that we couldn't talk to people on shift," Espinal said, but she did get "a big group of students" to support the petition.
Though not all the workers who signed the petition are against the policy, many who are in favor of a revised policy want BuDS management to understand that students still have a primary responsibility to their schoolwork, Espinal said.
For those who are considered "student workers," she said, "the emphasis is on the 'student.'"
