Have you ever avoided a bathroom on campus because all of the toilets were stopped up? Or attempted to dispose of garbage in an overflowing trash bin?
Don’t mistake this phenomenon for laziness — the custodial workers at the University of Memphis are vastly understaffed and overworked.
Only a handful of workers bear the brunt of the work, according to Bennie Price, a custodial worker on campus.
“We are thirty people short,” Price told listeners at a panel discussion in February. “We’ve got to go to four or five buildings a night, walking in the snow, sleet or rain.”
I don’t get it. Why won’t the University hire more people? I love seeing and interacting with the custodial workers on campus, but now they are forced to work night shifts. Price also said that the University had ample opportunities to hire more workers. At a recent job fair held by the University, officials turned away several qualified candidates, Price explained.
“We’re understaffed because they keep firing people and they’re not hiring nobody, and telling us everybody has a bad background. We know not everybody has a bad background,” Price said.
Draper and Associates, a business consulting firm that visited the U of M in the fall, recommended that the University hire custodians up to full staffing — rather than the current 30 percent under. They also recommended that the U of M implement differential pay for the overnight shift and provide walkie talkies for the workers.
But, has the University met any of these recommendations? Nope — not one.
These actions make me skeptical. Are they really actively looking for more qualified custodial workers or is this just an underhanded facade to cover up their agenda to outsource the department? I’m assuming the latter. The Physical Plant promised they would not outsource workers, but since January they have hired more Kelly Service temporary employees, who have no long-term relationship with the University.
What’s even more disconcerting? Multiple complaints and petitions have been filed against Kim Mcafee, a Physical Plant manager. Apparently the workers are consistently exploited in ways that make them feel inferior and uncomfortable. Several workers even refer to the department as the “Physical Plantation.” (Yes, my jaw dropped too). It’s especially interesting that the Physical Plant lists “respect” as one of the core values of the department, while workers are making references to master-slave dynamics.
“We’re understaffed because they keep firing people and they’re not hiring nobody, and telling us everybody has a bad background. We know not everybody has a bad background.”
I’ll be honest with you, as a busy student focusing on finishing my education and getting the hell out of the University of Memphis, I often find myself turning a blind eye toward our University’s bureaucratic politics. However, as a consumer of this University, and a person deeply concerned with the welfare of the individuals that service my institution, I can no longer ignore the blatantly inconsiderate and disrespectful policies and practices implemented on my campus.
So, the next time you throw your trash on the floor or decide to leave a mess in a bathroom stall, remember that you are adding on extra for people that are working double the amount or more than they should be, and they are experiencing an array of disrespect from their superiors that is unnecessary and shameful. Please, don’t make their circumstances any more difficult than they already are.
Lindsey A. Smith is a student at the University of Memphis.
