Students troubled about the treatment of women at The Commons and The Cove
(The Beacon)
By Mary Worlein, Janie Oliphant and Jaclyn Sisto, Guest Commentary
Active voice makes arguments less passive. In recent months we have heard experiences from workers concerning their unfair treatment here on campus in The Commons and in The Cove. These employees of Bon Appétit put their hearts and souls into cooking us food and serving us every day with a smile. From getting our morning coffee to late-night snack runs to The Commons, we count on them as a part of our daily lives here on campus. But after hearing some of their stories, we were outraged.
From what we have seen, women in the kitchen do not cook hot food, and none of the culinary managers in either the Commons or The Cove are male. One worker has said, "Real cooking is executing a menu and reading recipes, not flipping burgers or warming up previously made foods." Instead, women perform tasks such as prepping ingredients and serving food that has already been cooked by men, even though some women have past experience cooking hot food and hold culinary degrees.
In the United States, there is a serious wage gap between men and women, and on average women make about $0.77 to every $1.00 that their male counterparts make. Here at the University of Portland, a male worker and a female worker were hired at the same time several years ago. Since that time, the male worker has received three separate $1 raises while the female worker has been awarded just one $0.35 raise.
Furthermore, workers of both genders have heard managers making negative comments about female workers. These comments range from being about their cooking abilities to those of a sexual nature. Overall, there is a culture of complete disrespect for women in this work environment.
As issues of discrimination in other parts of campus continue to be discussed and examined, it's time to make the University of Portland a completely and totally inclusive community for all. We can be a part of the solution. As students, we have incredible power on this campus, and we need to stand up for those who are marginalized in our community and hold the University of Portland to its mission of social justice and the values of Catholic social teaching. It's time that this University becomes the safe and welcoming community it claims to be. That community should include fully recognizing Bon Appetit workers as part of it.
Mary Worlein and Janie Oliphant are senior social work majors. Jaclyn Sisto is a sophomore social work major. They can be reached at worlein13@up.edu, oliphant13@up.edu and sisto15@up.edu.
