UW-Milwaukee Struggles With Student Employment

Student employment at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s main campus has been short staffed since campus returned to in-person operations at the beginning of September and Student Union departments are operating at limited operations. 

Chad Boppel is the director of retail services and restaurant operations at UW-Milwaukee and oversees the operation of 650 student employees. For full operation this year, they are 40 percent short staffed compared to pre-pandemic operations of 800 student employees.  

“There’s been a struggle all over the entire department. We are able to handle low level catering because we don’t have people to produce the product or serve the product,” said Boppel. “We aren’t able to offer as high of pay as neighboring restaurants around here. Money is only part of the problem.”  

According to the undergraduate enrollment data, in 2011, the university had 24,678 undergraduates compared to 2021 with 18,037 undergraduates. The enrollment has decreased about 27 percent over the past decade, which means the segregated fees that are used for certain department’s budgets have been cut and student pay remains close to minimum wage.  

The Student Union has limited hours for restaurant operations and there are certain dining options like City Subs that remain closed because of the lack of employment. Union Station that usually offers a variety of food stations, only has limited to-go options and the popular sushi bar remains closed. At the Grind Coffee Shop, the lines are a long wait, and they no longer offer mobile ordering because they do not have enough staff to keep up with orders.  

Operating hours will remain limited until the Student Union increases their workforce and then will work to bring units back to full operation. Lila Reshadi-Nezhad, a fifth-year student at UW-Milwaukee as a Student Involvement CAB Explore Milwaukee Coordinator and Child Caregiver on campus, says the café she would stop at in Enderis Hall closed this year because there was a lack of employees.  

“A huge part of the lack is the rate at which we are being paid for the amount of work we are doing and the amount stress we get from taking on this work,” said Reshadi. “…There’s not much flexibility with the pay rate and the way in which funds are distributed. If one section gets a raise, another doesn’t. I have almost a two-dollar difference between my two on campus jobs.” 

Reshadi works 22 hours a week with both on campus jobs and has another job at an elementary school because she is studying early childhood education. These jobs are her source of income to pay for her groceries, dog and future mortgage.  

“I love the environment and the experience that UWM has to offer through these two jobs, and they have given me great experience I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else,” said Resahdi. “Looking at numbers to buy a house or even a place to live, there’s no way to pay rent. I’m forced to look into other ways to make money.” 

Students are in search of jobs paying 14 to 15 dollars an hour, but many campus departments cannot afford these rates even though student employment helps keep the campus running. Reshadi thinks there should be competitive wages considering the amount of segregated fees, taxes and tuition students pay to attend this university.  

“It’s a struggle for college students to make money to do everything they want to do,” said Boppel. “Minimum wage is to get by.”