UWM Experiences Understaffing Issues

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has not been able to hire enough workers within many departments, especially in the dining halls. 

It is no secret that students need jobs during their college years and many of them look for one inside the university. Although there are signs all around campus admiring the work environment of the union and dining halls, those signs don’t mention what happens behind the scenes.  

The reality is student employees are poorly paid and overworked. While student employment should feel like any other job, it should not be at the point where a student employee is obligated to take a shift because their department can only depend on a few students. 

The Union and dining halls are the areas on campus that offer the meal plan, and since the beginning of the fall semester campus workers have been overwhelmed with more duties during their shifts. 

For whatever reason it may be, this has led to more hiring advertising and closing early business hours in the café. 

The shortage of employees began when the university returned to full capacity since the pandemic. Even with safety guidelines inside the facility, it seems like students are afraid to work because they are concerned about the risks of getting coronavirus. 

Due to lack of employees, some residential and dining halls have been forced to readjust from their normal routines. For example, there were times when facilities sent emails to students about being understaffed and unable to take orders. 

James Kaicy, a sophomore at UWM, talked about his experiences about getting food on campus. “Last week, I only had 10 minutes before my next class so I rushed to the union to get lunch, but when I got there the line looked like a concert.” 

This has been an issue because most freshmen and sophomores do not own a vehicle on campus, so the meal plan is typically how they get food in between classes. Also there have been numerous complaints about lengthening wait times at checkout, food options removed from menus, and awful food quality. 

In addition, overscheduling and too much responsibility can impact a student’s mental and academic performance. But since the number of staff is fewer, the load of responsibilities becomes doubled. The important part is not when the tasks are being accomplished, but instead how and what it takes to complete them. 

Aside from the workplace strain, the only positive note about the understaff is allowing opportunities for students who are seeking employment. According college student employment data, student labor is below 10% compared to last year at 30-40 percent. 

Zachary Just is a student worker at the Grind cafe in the library but poor work conditions have caused him to apply at other places. He summarizes the job as “running on fumes” due to the endless pace of preparing, serving, and cleaning. 

“It’s honestly so painful to come back to a position where you feel drained all the time then repeat it the next day, and the shortage of workers doesn’t make it easier,” Just said. “Time management has been a struggle because sometimes I have to stay extra hours then when I get home, I’m exhausted and procrastinate my homework.” 

Just added that his minimum wage of $8.50 barely helps with tuition, books, rent, and groceries. Many administrators believe that students should be students first and student employment is meant to lower the cost of tuition. They also said UWM can’t afford to increase student wages because they use the money on expenses for renovation projects. 

As the school handles the hiring process, priority should be to ensure that every staff member has an equitable and convenient level of responsibility and work.  

Dining staff have continued to provide service to students despite the challenges.