Workers of the old University Club were abandoned after many years of service and are now out of a job.

In anticipation of the University Club’s move from the third floor of the Marvin Center to its new F Street location, GW changed contractors. But the University did not require the new management to keep the old workers. Thus Aramark, the company that formerly ran the University Club, was left with 10 full-time workers to relocate. Some of the displaced workers were offered part-time positions with no benefits.

When the new University Club opened its doors this fall on F Street, it had new management – the Club Corporation – and a more “elegant setting.” This meant that one worker who had given 33 years of service was not welcome and retired rather than take a part-time job through Aramark. Another 25-year veteran of the University Club was offered a job pushing heavy catering carts around campus despite the fact that she was 65 years old. She declined and took a part-time catering job with no benefits.

University officials refused to comment about the lay-offs. If GW cared about these workers it would have worked out a deal with the contracted companies involved to accommodate them. To take a posture of silence in this situation is shameful and implies that the University knows it may have made a mistake.

Each of the three parties involved – GW, the Club Corporation and Aramark – has refused responsibility for the welfare of the workers. But most of these workers are experienced and dedicated individuals who could have been put to work in another capacity.

The University should help find adequate full-time jobs for the displaced workers; however, the fact remains that the workers who dedicated themselves to GW and the University Club for so many years will probably not get their old jobs back.