Students decry dining service privatization

Students and union representatives are petitioning Eastern Michigan University’s plan to outsource its foodservice operations, calling for the school to delay such a move to allow for further discussion with stakeholders, MLive reports.

EMU last week announced a tentative agreement to hand over its residential, catering and retail foodservices to Chartwells, a deal the university’s interim president avered would enable the school to expand and upgrade its eateries while maintaining high food quality, MLive says.

Opponents of the plan say they are concerned about what they view as a lack of transparency on the university’s part and the potential for current employees to lose their jobs down the line. An online petition also notes worries about food quality, citing problems at Michigan prisons that had outsourced their foodservice operations.

EMU’s plan will be presented to the school’s Board of Regents for a vote on Tuesday.

Read the full story via MLive.