Custodial Shortage Offers No Clean Solution
by Tobias Smith

With the College in the midst of a hiring freeze, the people most affected may be those that most often go unnoticed, the custodians. Of the 58 positions in existence before the freeze, only 52 are now filled, and that understaffing, compounded by a steady number of custodians on sick leave, has intensified pressure on all custodial staff members.
According to College policy, sick leave guarantees job security for up to one year. To compensate for these vacancies, as well as the six positions the College is leaving unfilled, custodians are being asked to clean increasingly large areas and to focus only on those parts of buildings that could be health hazards, such as bathrooms.
“The custodial staff has risen to the challenge to maintain the standards that students deserve,” Assistant Director of ResLife/Facilities Keith Watkins said.
Many custodians, however, maintain that they cannot uphold such standards as long as they are stretched so thin. Some custodians report being told by management that as long as the bathrooms get clean, everything else can slide.
While the custodial staff is employed by the College, facilities management is privately contracted by the school, in much the same way that campus dining is managed by Bon Appetit. The facilities contract is with a corporation called Aramark Service Master, a group that manages everything from food services to prisons. Aramark bought out FRM (Facilities Resource Management), who had won the original contract in July 1998.
Some employees blame “The Firm” (a euphemism for FRM, now applied to Aramark) for what they see as unreasonable workloads. “I would like to see more humanity. The people who work here, they love their job. Its not our managers, it’s their managers [Aramark],” Bibbins Hall Custodian Scott Smith said.
Every custodian interviewed for this article expressed a serious sense of pride in her or his job, and generally spoke well about employment at Oberlin. However, many criticized the College’s policy of understaffing, as well as of the practice of employing “floaters,” or custodians who work different buildings every day, instead of a regular routine. They expressed concern that using floaters undermines each custodian’s sense of commitment, because floaters cannot focus on the same building every day, which is necessary if a custodian is to care about a building’s cleanliness. Also, many custodians feel that, with so many employees absent or on sick leave, the College should consider taking on more part-time custodians.
“It would be nice if they would hire a few subs. It would tremendously cut down on the physical burden that we have. That [hiring subs] was the system when I came.” Janet Williams, a custodian in South Hall, said.
Unfortunately, at a time when custodians seem to have specific and reasonable grievances, the same climate makes many concerned about job security. Of the seven custodians interviewed for this article, only two were willing to speak on the record. Even though custodians are a part of United Auto Workers union, many are still worried about being reprimanded for their views.
Students, who mobilized quite actively during labor negotiations earlier this year, have been silent about this issue.
“As long as students don’t say anything, they’re going to keep going with [the understaffing],” one custodial worker, who asked to remain anonymous, said.
Others feel that custodial concerns are also student concerns. “Students should be concerned about custodial workers for many reasons. Firstly, our tuitions pay their salaries. Oberlin students’ tuitions should provide faculty and staff with secure carriers in order to ensure quality service. Workers who are well paid and well protected work better and have a vested interest in the school,” Senior and Student Labor Action Coalition member Aram Donabedian said.
The College says that by not hiring new employees they are protecting custodial jobs. “Anything we can do to save people at this institution, that’s what we are going to do,” Vice President of College Relations Al Moran said.
Moran cites institutions such as Wooster College, where dozens of employees were laid off for financial reasons. Oberlin is firmly against laying of workers and therefore hesitating to create new positions. Instead, Moran says, the College is experimenting with innovations such as one year internships; positions can be reevaluated annually, under the full understanding that such employment is temporary.
The College does plan to fill some positions, however. “It’s really not a ‘hiring freeze.’ There is a review process of all vacant positions. Some positions are being filled, based on ‘critical need,’” Moran said.
Such “critical need” positions include a new director of admissions, controller, head basketball coach and major gifts officer.
Custodians are not the only staff feeling the freeze. The secretarial staff has voiced concerns and the College printing services is short staffed, forcing it to restrict its hours. With this year’s debt looming large, it seems understandable that some sacrifices must be made. However, what many custodians wonder is why cuts always fall on the maintenance staff.
“Sometimes they say that’s the way it is at the bottom of the ladder, but I believe being at the bottom of the ladder doesn’t mean you should be penalized,” Smith said.

 

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