At the end of the fall semester, the Caf was down by around 100 student workers. Marty’s had also lost over 30 student workers, along with Nordic and Sunnyside being understaffed by around 25 positions each. The ramifications of mass worker deficits have been felt across all campus work departments, but none have impacted the Luther community quite like the dining services shortage.

Starting this semester, the lack of Caf workers led to the consolidation of its operations, with lines such as the vegan, grill, and deli being closed, or only having self-serve availability. This trend has continued, with amenities such as the Grab-and-Go exterior location closing, and its services being moved to the Caf interior. Additionally, Marty’s, Nordic Brew, and Sunnyside have experienced variable hours of business, and limited operable services. For example, Marty’s has been forced to close its grill and fryers on weekends, leaving only the burrito line in operation during that time. 

“If we had people here working, we would have the grill open,” Logen Ollendiek, a Sodexo worker at Marty’s, said. “But we just don’t have the bodies. If you go look at the Caf too, the grill is closed. They don’t [have the staff either].”

So why is Luther experiencing such a widespread student worker shortage? A Google form created by a former student worker hoping to help answer this question was circulated on campus. It was later discussed at the February 17 emergency student meeting held by the Luther Student Senate, to address food and staff shortages on campus. According to the survey, the greatest grievance among former student workers was that the wages students were being paid was inadequate for the amount of labor performed. The average student pay at Luther is about $7.25 per hour. An anonymous source, who is employed by Sodexo, expressed some of the many reasons why students have quit working at Marty’s. 

“Low wage is probably number one,” they said. “A lot of our seniors this year quit due to finding better jobs with their degree…Other students have quit because they found another job on campus that is closer to their degree, or has a higher wage. Others just don’t like it here. Right now, one of our biggest issues is trying to keep the students we do have, but it’s hard to do with being so understaffed.” 

With the entire campus suffering from an employee deficit, the student workers that remain have had to pick up the slack. With long lines and limited food options, staff are scrambling to keep up with the amount of work expected of them. Another anonymous student worker expressed how her workload has become unmanageable due to the increased pressure to work extra hours.

“There have been times when I have been guilted into coming in [to work], even though I was swamped with homework,” the student said. “[I had] three essays, a presentation, and an exam the next day, and they’re still like: ‘but we’re going to be short staffed if you don’t come in.’ Then there have been other times when I get off at nine or ten and I need to study for an exam or do a homework assignment for the next day, and I do not have the energy.” 

At the emergency meeting, Senate members made an effort to address all groups affected by the shortage. They also wanted to hear what solutions Luther community members had in mind to address the worker shortage.

“This is a very complex issue,” Student Senate President Kelao Charmaine Neumbo (‘22) said. “We have heard a lot of different perspectives about what is going on, but today what I want to ask you all, is what do we need to do?”

Students were broken into small groups to discuss their individual perspectives and concerns surrounding the lack of dining services on campus. Each group also had a senate member record and represent their conversations. The majority of students present appeared to be former student workers, who desired to share their personal experiences with dining services employment. 

“We understand that there is a shortage of staff in general, but we need to talk about wages,” Jora Ferreira Alves (‘22) said. “Dining service requires a lot of physical work, and it’s heavy. We work four hours straight, with only a five minute break. By the time you sit down, they already want you back at work. That time break is not enough. The work environment can also be very toxic sometimes.”

Several students commented on the impact that working in dining services has had on their mental health, with many sharing they had quit because of the strain placed upon them and their personal wellbeing. 

One student shared that they had witnessed another frustrated worker become physically violent (punching food bags) after a particularly busy shift, making her feel unsafe in the workspace. Additionally, international students raised concerns about the manner in which they had been automatically assigned to dining services work upon admittance to Luther, whereas domestic students were often assigned to work elsewhere. The students also shared that they often felt they were treated unfairly by superiors, and were more frequently placed in roles where they would not have a lot of contact with diners, such as dishwashing. 

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Student Senate had a list of demands from the student body. First, that a campus wide message be sent out from dining services formally addressing the issue. Second, that there would need to be a pay increase to better reflect the physical nature of dining services work. Nothing has yet been sent out by the administration about the issue.