Graphic: Lucy Woods/The Olaf Messenger
Professional Bon Appétit workers at St. Olaf face a different experience unlike any other workers on campus; the college does not employ them. Instead, they are employees of Bon Appétit Management Company, a subsidiary of Compass Group, the largest global owner of contract food service companies. St. Olaf Bon Appétit workers are asking for Bon Appétit to sign a legal agreement that provides a fair path to union decision.
The legal agreement will ensure workers are not at risk of penalty for wanting to vote on unionization and make the path to a union decision a vote of 50 percent plus one of the workers. If Bon Appétit workers unionize, they will become part of Unite Here Local 17. Carleton College Bon Appétit workers are members of the same group, which is the Minneapolis branch of a hospitality union.
Last year, students spread a petition to increase professional Bon Appétit workers’ wages following an increase in student worker pay — student workers are paid by the college, unlike professional workers. Pay increases were given to some staff, though many are still not being paid a livable wage. The petition to increase wages for professional staff is for Bon Appétit corporate, not the St. Olaf administration, which controls college employee wages.
The Bon Appétit workers are finding that the expectations for employees are becoming more demanding each year. Returning student workers have to help train new workers while learning to multitask. The environment they are in forces them to work at a fast pace when the crowds increase, and they find the heat to be overbearing. The employees find that they do not receive support from the management when working conditions become stressful.
In an interview with an employee who remains anonymous, they said, “There are lots of holes in the system. We felt like something was wrong [and] this needs to be changed.” The employees are determined to create a more accessible environment, a place where they belong and feel supported.
They also mentioned that the full-time employees were collaborating with the student workers to help raise awareness of the unionization. The relationship between full-time and student employees has grown stronger through unionization. The full-time employees play a large role in this process by helping continue the students’ work over this past summer. According to the employee The Olaf Messenger interviewed, the full-time workers were able to get more people to support the union and change peoples’ views on the situation. A lot of progress was made with their support.
Student Bon Appétit workers brought the issue to St. Olaf Leftists’ attention who responded by beginning a petition campaign. The goal of the petition was to show that students stand in solidarity with professional Bon Appétit staff. “Almost two-thirds of students work for the college. The college doesn’t work unless we do,” Head Organizer of St. Olaf Leftists Will Asinger ’25 said. He believes that increased coverage of unions over the past months has motivated St. Olaf Leftists and others on campus to continue to show solidarity with workers. “It’s the same for Caf workers. A win for one is a win for all of us. Students were ready to show that solidarity,” Asinger said.
St. Olaf Leftists organized the distribution of “Fair Path to Union for Bon App Workers” petitions. Students involved with the organization were encouraged to take a copy of the petition and promote it across campus. Students brought the petitions and spoke of its importance during events, rehearsals, practices, and class. The petition received signatures from 1,350 students, which is 44 percent of the student body and 550 signatures above their goal.
Asinger believes student-worker solidarity explains the petition’s success. “Students realize that they have more in common with Bon App workers than with the execs at Compass Group, the folks who own Bon App,” Asinger said. “They see that a win for workers is a win for them.”
The St. Olaf Leftists delivered the petitions to President Susan Rundell Singer’s office on Sept. 26. The President was coming back from a meeting and stopped to talk with the crowd of students outside her office. One Bon Appétit worker gave a speech about the formation of a union and expressed the challenges that the workers are facing.
After their speech, Rundell Singer said, “Thank you for being such caring human beings.” She asked if she could take the petitions from the Leftists. A member from the President’s Office grabbed the petitions and placed them on Rundell Singer’s desk. Before returning to the office, Rundell Singer thanked the students once more.
“The international corporate conglomerate Compass Group is a whole lot different than St. Olaf College, so that is an important distinction to make,” Asinger said. St. Olaf can choose to support Bon Appétit workers in their struggle for a fair path to a union decision, but they cannot sign the legal agreement.
Students can continue to show solidarity with Bon Appétit workers by following along with updates on the petition and path to a union decision.
