By D. Shayne Christie
Arizona Daily Wildcat
September 3, 1997

New dining services director cuts 18 jobs

Chris Richards Arizona Daily Wildcat Michelle Fickas, student lead cashier at Louie's Lower Level, oversees the weighing of a meal yesterday afternoon.

Over the summer the new director of dining services made a number of improvements to the Memorial Student Union - one such improvement meant 18 full-time jobs were eliminated, said David Gallbraith, director of dining services.

"We were forced to lay off employees to bring our labor costs into line," he said.

Many of the restaurants feature self-serve items, which are weighed at the cashier. Gallbraith explained that self serve means you get the same product, faster, without requiring an additional employee to serve you.

And employees cost money.

The layoffs saved dining services $350,000, Gallbraith said.

The Memorial Student Union and Park Student Union have satellite services like the Scoreboard Cafe. They also have vendors at sporting events. Satellite services and vendors bring in about $7 million per year.

"That is not even how much we needed to cut, but that will represent all of the cuts that will have to be made for full-time employees this year and hopefully for good," he said.

Full-time employees at the UA are employees of the state, which means they get paid a better wage than average food workers and often get medical and health benefits, Gallbraith said.

"We are expected to compete with perimeter food services that pay minimum wage," he said. Plus the Student Union is open all year, while many off-campus restaurants decrease hours significantly or close for the summer, he said.

All of these factors, plus a decline in enrollment, meant the Student Union was paying out more money than it was taking in, he said. They were then faced with the choice of either eliminating positions, or raising food prices -an option that is not popular with students, he said.

The Student Union, and all of dining services, is an auxiliary to the university, which means they pay rent for the space they use and receive no money from UA.

The improvements to the Student Union cost $35,000 and represent the Student Union's commitment to provide better service to students, Gallbraith said.

Gallbraith has only been director of dining services for about four months. He replaced former director Carl Split, who retired.

Dan Adams, director of both Student Unions, said Gallbraith was selected after a nationwide search and application process.

"He (Gallbraith) is advancing some changes and we believe they are the right way to go," Adams said.

The improvements to the Student Union include: Taco Bell Express changed locations to prevent long lines in the old location, the Fiddlee Fig Eatery was repainted and signs were added, Louie's Lower Level was restructured and new carpeting was added to the Pueblo Room.

"Everything we redesigned with the thought can we reuse this when the renovations happen," Gallbraith said.

The Arizona Board of Regents gave their initial approval in August to a plan to completely remodel the Student Union, but construction is years away, Gallbraith said.

Because a new Student Union is several years off, dining services has a responsibility to students who are here now, he said. Since he cannot do anything about the building, Gallbraith said, his focus will be to improve the quality of food and service in the union.

"It is prudent for us to offer what students want on campus," he said, noting that Louie's Lower Level now serves stir-fry dishes along with burgers and fries.

Adams said Student Union officials are also looking at ways to make it safer. The Student Union has scores of code violations, and the Student Union administration is trying to find an architect who can fix many of the problems with one swoop, he said.

"In hiring them we will ask them to help us take care of all of the violations as well as create space," Adams said.

Despite attempts to improve Student Union facilities some students are still unhappy.

Marnie Metro, a creative writing senior, said she does not like the new pay-by-weight system.

"I think it was cheaper the other way," she said of the new system at On Deck Deli.

However, Gallbraith said because the deli decided to use a cheaper brand of lunch meat - Foster Farms instead of Boars Head Brand - they are able to pass the savings on to students.

"I like it. I love it," said Celia Castillo, a marketing freshman.

But Monica Miller, a graduate student, said the prices are too high in the Student Union. "We're students. We are broke," she said. Miller said she eats at Taco Bell Express because all the other food is overpriced.

To Gallbraith, the complaints come as no surprise.

"It is the God-given duty of students to complain about food service. My job is to give them as little as possible to be unhappy about," he said.