Brandeis Dining hall workers call on Harvest Table for better contract

At 2:40 pm on Sept. 9, the usual post-lunch stillness in Usdan Dining hall began to dissipate as Harvest Table employees started to fill the booths outside Dunkin Donuts. The energy began to build and at 2:45 pm People started to clap and chant, making their way past Louis’ Deli and the Hive before settling in front of Usdan Kitchen.

“What do we want?” asked one of the employees.

“Contracts!” responded the crowd.

Contract negotiations between employees and Harvest Table —- Brandeis’ contracted culinary group – were supposed to be finalized over the summer. However, the food service company failed to meet their employees’ desired terms necessitating higher wages. Today, employees demanded Harvest Table management to listen. “We want to fight!” shouted one employee.

According to the online employment database Indeed, Harvest Table employees report hourly wages ranging from $17.36 for a line cook to $19.16 for a sous chef. Employees on Indeed report to 30% “salary satisfaction.” According to Glassdoorin terms of a yearly salary a Hospitality Services employee for Harvest Table can be expected to make $35,000 to $55,000 a year, and a Diner Cook Lead can be expected to make $36,000 to $49,000 reportedly. Meanwhile, the city of Boston’s minimum cost of living is $56,360 a year, which is 47% higher than the national average.

There were a handful of student participants in the crowd, including one student, who spoke on behalf of other community members in support of the workers in the Brandeis L26 union. “Students know who their allies are,” they said, “(and) Brandeis employees deserve to be well fed and live in Boston on a fair wage.”

After the rally ended, another student, who did not identify themself, added that from their perspective, Brandeis students should stand with the employees that feed them. The student shared their mother works in a similar employment position, so the issue of not paying hourly workers a living wage is personal.

The issue of accountability surrounding the alleged unfair treatment of employees working in the University’s dining halls is ongoing. A speaker explained more simply that “workers blame Harvest Table,” and “Harvest Table blames the Brandeis administration.” The administration has already faced complaints this year from the Service Employees International Union Local 509, SEIU Local 888, and 32BJ SEIU as graduate students and Brandeis faculty have also raised concerns about unfair wages.