Column: Say `No' to Dining Privatization: Keep Out ARAMARK

Duke University Dining Services, a division of ARAMARK, Inc. Sounds catchy, huh? If Duke Associate Vice President for Auxiliary Services Joe Pietrantoni has his way, this could be the new name of our main on-campus food source. Recent talks between Dining Services and the $7 billion Philadelphia-based provider of private prison maintenance, uniform, childcare and food services have put the two parties close to an agreement, with minimal student and worker input. Dining Services did not mention to students its intentions to sell to ARAMARK. Instead it allowed The Chronicle to announce the potential buyout of four eateries. All of this secrecy sounded fishy to me, so I took some time to research this potential provider of our sustenance. Here's what I found:

• Last summer, ARAMARK took over part of the University of Michigan's hospital dining services and violated a longstanding contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees local 1583 union. As a result of the takeover, 39 workers were laid off or displaced, even though management claimed that they were "not looking for staff to be adversely affected." Here at Duke the workers are represented by AFSME local 77 and have received the following statement from Joe Pietrantoni: "We're not going to hurt the union; we will continue to honor our commitments." Sound similar?

• According to a recent report "The Prison Industrial Complex in America: Investment in Slavery" from The Engaged Zen Foundation, ARAMARK is a major sponsor of the private prison industry and prison labor. ARAMARK offers a wide range of maintenance services in 175 prisons and profits from the incarceration of human beings.

• Upon its 1991 arrival at the University of Texas at Austin, ARAMARK "renovated" the student union dining facilities, replacing Great Hall-style eateries with fast food chains, leaving students the "options" of Taco Bell, Burger King and Wendy's. According to a Feb. 20 Chronicle article, "ARAMARK will also renovate The Great Hall to meet its needs." Given its track record at UT-Austin and dozens of other schools, I'm hesitant to put my faith in these "renovations."

• University of Houston System Board of Regents recently recommended to terminate its 41-year long relationship with ARAMARK after a series of health violations, which culminated in a food poisoning outbreak that hospitalized approximately 125 students at Sam Houston State University. At Pomona College, 127 students were infected with salmonella after eating at an ARAMARK-run eatery.

• A website from Claremont McKenna College displays photos and facts about ARAMARK. Here's an excerpt: "Food poisoning; racial, gender, and age discrimination; unfair, intimidating, and illegal labor practices. What do they have in common? ARAMARK's been accused of them all. In more than one case, the state government... has upheld the accusations. Oh, and by the way, the food sucks. Selection and quality have both suffered dramatically."

So, given this lackluster history, why would Dining Services ever want to associate with such a company? I think it has to do with the Benjamins, you know, that "bottom line." After all, Duke has been slightly lagging behind in the race to become the first fully corporatized and for-profit university. Indeed, running a university like a business is quite trendy these days, and "outsourcing" is the word of the decade. However, would the meager cost savings justify the health risks, employee hardships and lack of accountability that ARAMARK represents? I don't think so.

Despite Pietrantoni's remark that only ARAMARK could provide training for "diverse foods," I would argue that the rotating additions of Sitar Palace Indian cuisine, Blue Express Mediterranean and a new Chinese restaurant in the Great Hall constitute a welcome diversity that students are pleased with. In addition, I have found the Great Hall more receptive to suggestions and open to trying new recipes as of late. If you didn't get some of that grilled salmon with tomatillo salsa last Sunday night, you slept on a wonderful dish. These changes prove that Dining Services is able to train its own chefs in preparing healthy and tasty meals. These mysterious ARAMARK "test kitchens" that are discussed in The Chronicle article are not necessary when Duke can send its own chefs to training. In fact, Duke does not need ARAMARK for anything except head (and stomach) aches, employee mistreatment and poor food quality.

Jonathan Harris is a Trinity junior. Snehal Patel, Trinity '02, also contributed to this column.