Outsourcing shrinks cleaning staff

By Troy Simpson

Santa Clara's facilities department is in the midst of a sweeping change, opting to replace its current university-employed custodial services with those of an external company as university employees vacate their positions.

"I think that they're trying to outsource everything here so that in the long run they can get rid of all of us," General Maintenance Mechanic Rich Tunstall said.

Union representatives for the university-employed custodial staff say changing this plan is one of their major goals in the contract negotiations expected to begin this morning.

"What happens is when they start to contract out or hire temporary workers, the standard drops. The standard of job service drops, how workers are treated drops. It's like everything you fight for to provide quality of life for workers goes out the window," Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 715 Worksite Organizer Leah Berlanga said.

Facilities Director Jeff Charles said no employees have lost their jobs as a result of the decision. Instead, as they quit, retire or leave the department for various reasons, management fills the void with employees from Diversified Maintenance Services (DMS).

"Economically, it's the smart thing to do. What you try to do is maximize the resources you have given to you. We have dollars that we are given to us to spend and we are getting more bang for the buck, so to speak," said Charles.

Assistant Vice President of University Operations Joe Sugg agreed, adding that because DMS manages their custodial staff at Santa Clara, the university saves time, money and resources.

"It was determined that it would be possible first and beneficial second if we reduced our involvement in the management of custodials," said Sugg.

The decision has already resulted in considerable changes to the custodial crew, down to 21 members from 40 three years ago. There are currently 20 custodial employees working for DMS on campus, Berlanga said.

Not all on-campus custodial employees are bothered by the change. Some said because their individual positions are not in jeopardy, there is no reason to dispute the decision.

"I don't feel any remorse for having contractors," said Custodian Carlon "Nell" Comier. "I don't care because it has nothing to do with me - They're not taking our jobs. If [Facilities employees] do what they have to do â€" keep their mouth shut and stop griping, they would have a job. And they can't be running to Father Locatelli about 'I'm getting mistreated.' No, you're not getting mistreated, just mind your own damn business."

Comparing the benefits

DMS custodial employees work from 10:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. and are responsible for most academic buildings on campus, while the majority of university custodial employees work during the day and care for the residential buildings, Charles said.

Current facilities employees voice concerns that DMS employees do not receive adequate compensation for their work when compared to Santa Clara employees.

"They don't have the benefits," Union Steward Eugenio Ramirez said. "They don't have the holidays. They don't have the salary. Even if they work for the university, they don't work directly. They can work hard. They can give a lot of sacrifice and sweat, but they don't get anything from the university."

When Santa Clara bid for a new custodial contracting company, one of the requirements was that their employees make a wage comparable to the "living wage" in San Jose.

"We specified a certain amount of money that must be paid to their employees," Charles said. "The university was rather leaning forward to making sure that whoever works on this campus is being paid an acceptable wage."

The living wage in San Jose, as established in 1998 city council Resolution 68900, is $9.50 per hour for employees receiving health insurance benefits and $10.75 per hour for those who don't, according to the City of San Jose's Web site (http://www.ci.san-jose.ca.us/purch/purch.htm).

Although SEIU Local 715 represents Santa Clara-employed custodians, a different branch of the same union represents DMS employees: of local 1877. The contract â€" which specifies wages, benefits and other agreements â€" between Santa Clara and its employees is altogether different than the contract between DMS and its employees.

DMS custodial employees working at Santa Clara make anywhere from $8.04 per hour to $10.04 per hour, SEIU Local 1877 Regional Vice President Salvador Bustamonte said.

In comparison to Santa Clara custodial employees who, according to Berlanga, make anywhere from $12.92 to $16.99 per hour, Bustamonte said the difference in wages and benefits is considerable. Lower wages paid to DMS employees result in more competitive bids to businesses, but that this edge comes at a cost to the employees, Bustamonte said.

"I think that there's no reason, honestly, why our members who work for DMS at Santa Clara University should make two dollars - or whatever it is - less than the workers who work for the university," Bustamonte said.

Costs of Contracting

Bustamonte said Santa Clara's increased use of contracted custodians undermines its commitment to social justice.

"In terms of the (Jesuit) mission, I think that subcontracting the work contradicts the mission of Santa Clara University. I would say that at least in a lot of countries and throughout history, the Jesuits have fought for justice. I don't think that it does a lot of justice for the janitors when in order to save money, the university subcontracts," Bustamonte said.

Despite lower wages, DMS employees do receive a benefits package that includes family medical and dental plans as well as sick leave, holidays and vacation time, Bustamonte said.

In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, full-time Santa Clara custodial employees can, along with their spouses and children, attend Santa Clara courses free of tuition charges, an option not offered to employees of any external company, including DMS.

"I work here for one reason: because the benefit of getting my son through college. He'll be the first person to go to college in both of my wife and my families," said General Maintenance Mechanic Bowers.

Many Santa Clara custodial employees say management takes no responsibility for DMS employees as members of the Santa Clara community.

Charles said that simply isn't true.

"[DMS employees] are treated with dignity and respect," said Charles. "Many people don't even see them, but any employee of the university is treated the same. Everybody understands that you're a human being; you have the same needs and wants as everyone else."

Still, Sugg said that Santa Clara does not have the same responsibility to DMS employees as it does to it's own with regards to the specifics of their employment.

"We don't have a commitment to people who are not employees of the university," Sugg said.

Union Steward Ray Menchaca said that opting for an external custodial vendor weakens the morale of those still employed at Santa Clara.

"The university saves a few bucks, but they miss out on the quality of work and the commitment of the people that have been here for so many years. The people that are here now feel unappreciated. They feel demeaned by it," Menchaca said.

Norberto Valez, DMS's Vice President General Manager for northern California, countered this sentiment, saying that DMS employees are highly-trained and highly-qualified employees.

"We are a reputable company. We provide the highest level of service when it comes to supporting our service employees and when it comes to training with chemical use," Valez said.

Outsourcing is nothing new at Santa Clara, as many external companies do specialty work on a regular basis, Charles said.

Valez said working with DMS saves companies the cost of overhead and management.

"[Outsourcing] is a good decision for folks who run in-house operations primarily because we bring a different level of expertise," said Valez. "We have years and years of experience - We understand how to execute our business in whatever facet. That's why most companies choose to do outsourcing."

Drawing Comparisons

Loyola Marymount University, a Jesuit university in Southern California, does not outsource their custodial staff. However, their in-house custodial unit isn't represented by a union, according to Loyola's Assistant Vice President of Operations and Management David Littell. He said there is no push from the workers to unionize.

Loyola custodial employees, despite their lack of union representation, receive a similar benefit package to that of Santa Clara custodial employees, according to Loyola's Benefits and Compensation Manager Margaret Halm.

As for the possibility of Loyola contracting their custodial staff out, Littell said that simply isn't an option.

"There is a constant argument that, 'Well, I can do it cheaper and faster by contract.' Well, you might be able to do it cheaper and faster, but is that necessarily better in terms of quality? We're looking for a quality cleaning effort, not a quick and dirty go-through," Littell said.

University of San Francisco, another Jesuit university in California, contracts their entire custodial staff out to Able Building Maintenance, USF's Assistant Director of Facilities Management Linda Clardy said.

Although none of the custodial staff at USF is employed by the university, Clardy said Able Building Maintenance employees are treated like they belong.

"It's the nature of being a Jesuit university. We tend to be more caring about our employees, whether they work for us or not. When you see someone on a daily basis, you have a relationship with them, regardless of a legal relationship," Clardy said.

Stanford University's custodial staff ratio is similar to that of Santa Clara, as the academic campus is maintained by American Building Maintenance and the residence halls are handled by an in-house custodial staff, according to Stanford's Facilities Zone Manager Chonna DeLaney.

"For us, the benefit is the management staff. We have found that this contractor is extremely proactive and the teamwork is great ... They go above and beyond," said DeLaney.

û Contact Troy Simpson at (408) 554-4546 or at tsimpson@scu.edu.