Chartwells Employees Hours Restored After a Week of Demonstrations in Mather Hall

Savannah Brooks ’26

Editor-in-Chief

Monday, Nov. 3

After a meeting on Friday, Oct. 31 with Chartwells management, the Chartwells employees’ hours were restored in full after a week of lunchtime demonstrations. The workers’ contract and their hours will be revisited in January as their negotiations will begin in the upcoming weeks.

Thursday, Oct. 30

On Thursday, Oct. 30, Chartwells employees announced in Mather that they would be moving their daily demonstrations to 2 p.m. instead of the usual 1:15 p.m. due to management request. At the demonstration, Chartwells Residential District Manager Maurice Little informed the gathered crowd that “The hour cuts are to match up with the enrollment that we have. The amount of revenue that we get off of enrollment is why there are cuts. The labor needs to match up with the amount of revenue that comes in.”

Trinity College President Dan Lugo told the Tripod that worker requests for students and their families to email him and the rest of the administration would not be effective. Lugo said that the administration has “no immediate power” regarding the situation.

“We love all the members that work at providing the services and experiences in this community. Our Chartwells employees are really beloved and endeared members of this community,” Lugo said. “But they are employees of Chartwells – an independent company who is a subsidiary of a very successful and large provider of food service. So, we don’t have any immediate opportunity to impact their employment relationship with their employer, Chartwells. All we can do, and we are in the middle of doing, is encourage both sides to ensure they’re at the table and that they are creating the best negotiated terms for their employees to continue to do great work.”

Monday, Oct. 27

On Monday, Oct. 27, and Tuesday, Oct. 28, Chartwells employees in Mather Hall, Trinity’s main dining hall, marched around diners to demand more hours after they were informed that their hours would be reduced just before their contract is set to expire in December. The assembled workers, numbering around 30, chanted slogans such as, “What do we want? More hours,” and, “If we don’t get it, shut it down,” referring to the dining halls.

Chartwells employees also demonstrated in October of 2016, similarly related to a decrease in worker hours and a subsequent cut in benefits such as health insurance. Employees saw a reduction of hours overturned in 2007 after a series of rallies. Chartwells is a part of the Compass Group, the largest contract foodservice company in Europe. Chartwells is partnered with 350 college campuses across the country, and has been criticized as a college dining option for Compass Group’s investments in military operations, as well as a number of lawsuits over its existence, with subjects including exposing listeria to prisoners in Ontario jails, serving horse and pork meat in burgers marketed to be made of beef and, in one settled lawsuit, allegedly overcharged for low-quality food served to DC Public Schools.

According to the workers, Chartwells notified them on Thursday, Oct. 23, through their union representative, that their hours would be reduced. After a meeting with Chartwells on Monday, the workers decided to demonstrate daily at lunchtime to build community interest to their cause. The workers told the Tripod that they were informed the hours reduction was due to over 100 students choosing not to return to buying into the meal plan for the spring semester, but they were not sure why students are not choosing to return.

“During the COVID-19 era, we lost many students, and we didn’t lose as many hours as we are now. Food costs are going up for Chartwells and they’re trying to get money back,” one worker told the Tripod. The workers claimed that there were no longer any workers who would be working 40+ hours a week, meaning that most workers’ benefits would be significantly reduced. Until the workers are given their hours back, they told the 30 students who gathered to watch the protest that they would be demonstrating every day at lunchtime. They encouraged the students to put pressure on Trinity by issuing complaints, or even having their parents email the administration.

“We work with this company. We’re not greedy,” one worker said. “We work with them to cut hours, but enough is enough.” Workers noted that they do not want to fully strike and shut down the dining halls, but they will if their demands are not met.

Chartwells representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This was a live story. Coverage has now concluded.

Quotes used in this article have been edited for clarity and length.