After losing $15,000 and being forced to confront the fact that a number of employees were stealing money in a number of ways over the last several months, the Wisconsin Union had to act.
It would be nice to label the thieves a few bad apples, fire them and move on with business as usual. However, recent events suggest that something was fundamentally flawed, and a certain permissive atmosphere had given way to various forms of delinquency at the Union.
The question, however, is whether the institutional response amounts to killing an ant with a sledgehammer, whether forcefully banning tips, presenting a newer, tougher management style, and in some cases changing job descriptions on the fly will ultimately do more to alienate a formerly content workforce and diminish the productivity and appeal of the place.
Although there is no definitive answer to that question at the moment, this week's letter from disgruntled Union employees to the dean of students suggests that such draconian measures could do more long term harm than good. The letter probably should have gone to Union management in the first place, but the message is clear nonetheless: The time has come for a compromise.
As things currently stand, the Union is an undermanned and, in many cases, unhappy place. Those workers left behind are adapting to a new climate in which small perks of the job - tips, a free sandwich every now and then, breaks from work - are no longer allowed.
The situation does not just affect the Rathskeller and Stiftskeller either, and employees completely disconnected from the stealing scandal are paying the price for the crimes of others. For their part, Union leadership is using a snowball argument of sorts, saying they need to nip any rule breaking in the bud. To make matters worse, the Union as a whole has seen better days, financially speaking.
Obviously, acts such as taking money from the cash registers, giving away free pitchers of beer in return for super-sized tips, and raiding the food pantry are unacceptable. But the bosses are also unwarranted in responding with the threat that anybody seen accepting a dollar from a happy customer will be fired, or saddling employees with tasks they've never done because half of the workforce has either quit or been fired.
Fortunately, the Union will host a number of forums to hear student grievances and attempt to quell the rumblings of discontent. But the forums must amount to something more than simply listening, nodding, smiling and finally saying something along the lines of, That's very interesting, but we're not changing our position."" The goal, after all, is to ensure the vitality of the Union. Alienate the workforce, and they'll be left with the prospect of future disaster.
