In print | Published November 11, 2004

Dear Editor:

As a Sharples staff member, I was personally offended by the thinly veiled condescending nature of some of Joe Alberti ’06’s recent statements. Joe Alberti ’06’s Oct. 28 letter ("Schall’s stonewalling on Sharples, pg. 14) that attempted to describe how vital employee’s positions at Sharples are to them included the extremely offensive line, “Without their jobs, they would have nothing.” To state that Sharples employees have “nothing” without their jobs implies that no one has sufficient abilities to qualify for employment elsewhere.

My fellow employees are honest and hardworking people from all walks of life who have accomplished much more than Alberti acknowledges. Besides the fact that most of the staff has acquired more wisdom with age than Alberti’s years permit, some have also completed a higher level of education. One employee holds a master’s degree, and several others hold bachelor degrees.

Within the ranks of Sharples’ staff there is an informational risk manager, a professional singer, a single mother working toward a college degree, a private business co-owner, a former businessman who has worked with the U.S. embassy, several accredited cooks and some high school and college students, to name a few. Some students may remember Zakir Khandkar, who was featured in the Oct. 4, 2001 issue of The Phoenix (“Immigrant doc offers Sharples fare, medical advice,” pg. 5) because of his position as a Bangladeshi doctor working toward an American license. There are also many first-generation American employees who have afforded their children a good education and opportunities that they didn’t have themselves.

Another particularly disturbing and offensive claim made in Alberti’s original Sept. 30 letter ("Managers mistreat Sharples employees, Sept. 30, pg. 10) insinuated some employees are specially chosen and hired because they “won’t complain and demand equality … Many staff are part of special programs, making them blind to the unfairness that exists.” The dining services department has received accolades for its welcoming of special-needs employees. To imply that certain people are hired specifically because they won’t be able to understand if they are mistreated is not only an insult to those in charge of hiring, it is also a slap in the face to and a devaluation of those employees who are working hard in spite of personal challenges.

As a local resident, I came to work at Sharples in 2000 as a high school junior for my first part-time job and had a wonderful experience. In September 2002, I enrolled in La Salle University and decided to use my dining hall expertise in their cafeteria doing a similar job. I lasted half a semester before I decided that although I may be a student at La Salle, I was still a worker at Swarthmore. At La Salle, I made $5.15 per hour and could not work in excess of eight hours a week. I was not trusted to do simple tasks, and another staff member had to evaluate my area at the end of each night to see if I had cleaned it properly. I was subjected to a disrespectful and very unpleasant workplace for the first time. Perhaps Alberti has not had such an experience, because if he did he would realize that despite any flaws, Sharples is “a better workplace” with higher standards than most work environments. My fellow employees deserve more credit than our noble crusader affords us with his unintentionally insulting and belittling assertions.

Nicole Woods
Sharples employee

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