A new agreement with Aramark and UCF, which essentially gives the major food distributor total control over the Student Union and most dining options, is set to take effect September 1.
The 10-year deal, which was signed on July 27 without ceremony and without a press release, is a dramatic change from its predecessor. Its most controversial stipulations are those relating to where Aramark can have exclusive control of dining options, most notably in the Student Union. The exceptions to the exclusivity agreement are Campus Catering, Knights Plaza, and the Health Center pharmacy.
The contract, which was obtained by Knight News, binds Aramark to a more than $17.8 million commitment which will be invested in two phases of Student Union renovations, costing $7.3 million and $7 million, respectively; a $1 million project to “refresh primary residential facility,” namely the Neptune Community; and $2.5 million to “open a Pollo Tropical and Café Bustelo in an underserved neighborhood.” The renovations to the Student Union, according to UCF spokesman Mark Schlueb, are expected to be completed in 2018.
Chili’s, which will be located in the space where Wackadoo’s and Topper’s used to be in the southeast corner of the Student Union’s first floor, is expected to be open for business by December.
UCF’s responsibilities to campus dining facilities as well as those of Aramark are also detailed in the agreement. The university will generally provide the facilities themselves as well as most of the equipment and electrical wiring. Aramark would be responsible for maintaining the equipment and facilities provided by UCF as well as providing equipment used in food preparation and serving.
Most repairs will be paid for by UCF, but in some instances will be paid for out of an “Equipment Repair and Maintenance/Replacement Fund” created by Aramark. In the event that this fund should be exhausted, the university has agreed to pay for the costs except when repairs or replacements are “required due to the negligence of Aramark.”
Aramark is also responsible with ensuring that their facilities pass health and sanitation inspections. The company and UCF agreed to conduct a “joint inspection” at the end of each academic year with a company representative and the “UCF Dining Liaison.”
The Florida Department of Health can conduct its own inspection, but it is unclear if a representative will participate in the joint review. And while Aramark is responsible for maintaining kitchen equipment and sanitizing its facilities, UCF is obligated to “be responsible for compliance with all federal, state, and local safety and health laws with respect to” Aramark-run diners.
Both stipulations, which are seemingly contradictory, have not been immediately clarified by UCF spokespeople after Knight News requested for comment. The article will be updated to reflect clarifications of the document by UCF.
The agreement is not without critics, however. Restaurateurs operating in the Student Union fear the possibility of going out of business and are concerned that the university is pushing out alumni-owned businesses. And, according to the contract, those fears may be proven correct. According to the agreement, Aramark is to engage a minimum of two “independent sole proprietors’ or privately owned franchisee concepts as third party vendors” operating in the Student Union.
While they would be contractually obligated to participate in an Aramark-administered Dining Dollars program, as independent contractors they would “not [be] included in or have access or use of any repair and maintenance dollars” reserved for other businesses working with Aramark. This falls short of the amended motion approved during last November’s Board of Trustees vote in favor of the overall agreement, which Knight News reported would allow for two local businesses to operate in the Student Union.
The Student Labor Action Project has also been opposed to the agreement since it was approved last year. Since then, SLAP has held petition drives calling for more worker protections and student input in the agreement’s implementation, distributed pamphlets calling for a boycott of businesses working with Aramark, and delivered cards to UCF Vice President William Merck’s office thanking him for “go[ing] behind student’s backs and kick out local businesses.”
In response to the contents of the contract itself, the group provided a statement to Knight News.
“SLAP is disappointed with this new deal that the university has entered with Aramark for many reasons, but the most egregious of all is the complete lack of any worker protections included in the contract,” it read. “Aramark’s idea of ethnic food is Pollo Tropical, their cost-saving measures have lead (sic) to a prison riot and the University of Alabama they partnered with has been sued over their Dining Dollars program. SLAP does not think that giving Aramark near total control of campus dining is a good idea.”
The group’s remarks on a prison riot caused by Aramark’s policies refers to a 2009 riot at Northpoint Training Center, a medium-security prison in Kentucky, which left 16 people injured. While not one of the primary causes, an investigative report detailed by the Lexington Herald-Leader showed “that virtually every inmate and employee interviewed by investigators said that Aramark food and its prices at the canteen were among the reasons for the riot.” The report resulted in the Kentucky House Judiciary Committee approving a bill that canceled the state’s contract with the company to provide food to its prisons.
The lawsuit mentioned in the statement refers to a case that alleged that fees charged to students by the University of Alabama on behalf of Aramark in order to fund its campus dining program violated state anti-trust laws. While the program was controversial, it was upheld by a circuit court judge and the case against it was dismissed.
UCF did not immediately respond to the statement in a request for comment by Knight News.
