As a record-breaking 37.9 inches of snow fell on Providence on Sunday night, staff members from Dining Services slept on army cots in the Sharpe Refectory and Verney-Woolley Dining Hall. As essential workers, Dining Services employees were expected to come into work during and after the blizzard.
The current contract between the University and the United Service and Allied Workers of Rhode Island — which represents Dining Services — states that “in anticipation of severe storms, the University will provide sleeping cots and bedding for Dining Services employees who must remain on site for the evening.”
The same provision is in the previous union contract that began in 2021. According to United Service and Allied Workers Business Agent Amy Cardone, it also appeared in contracts from 2018 and 2000…