MHMC- Commercial Template Doc Size 11.25” X 14”
Image Area 10.375 x 11.75 CYAN
MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
1
Vol. V Vo oll.. 9 91, 1,, IIssue 1 ssue ss e1 16 6 | Oc O Oct. ct.t. 1 18 8 - Oc O Oct Oct. ct.t. 2 21, 1,, 2 1 2012 012 01
.com .com
THE MIAMI HURRICANE
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MONICA HERNDON // ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR STRENGTH IN NUMBERS: Betty Asbury stands with nearly 30 students who feel her dismissal from Chartwells was unwarranted. “Wow, this is a lot of people,” she said. “I got a big heart.”
Employee’s dismissal leads to petition BY ALLISON GOODMAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Sitting in the library of St. Bede’s Episcopal Chapel on campus on Tuesday evening, Betty Asbury, known on campus as “Miss Betty,” started to cry. “Lord, I done lost my job,” she said. “What am I to do? I done lost everything.” Asbury was dismissed on Oct. 10, the day after a man walked past her cashier post in the Hecht/Stanford Dining Hall without paying. She believes the man, who was not a student, works at the BankUnited Center. Chartwells, the national company in charge of most food service on
UM’s campus, employed Asbury – a single mother with 15 years of cashier experience in Miami – two years ago. Asbury said she didn’t see the man walk past her because she was ringing up the customer who walked in with him. When her manager and supervisor called Asbury into the office the next day, she told them it was a mistake. “I said, ‘You know, I apologize. It was a human mistake and I overlooked someone who went through without paying. I really love my job, and I want to keep my job – write me up and I’ll make sure it won’t happen again,’” she said. Entry for breakfast would have cost the man $6.80. According to Asbury, she was never written up in the past, and she received the highest evaluation in the Hecht/Stanford Dining Hall last
FRIES WITH POTUS PAGE 3
year. In August, her pay increased to $9.58 to reflect her good performance. However, it still takes two paychecks for Asbury to pay her mortgage, and she lives alone. “Just last week, another worker told me that the University of Miami is a beautiful place and it should be treated as such by all the employers and employees,” senior Dylan Beasley said. “Miss Betty was one of the reasons why this campus was beautiful, and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of students can attest to that.” For several days, Asbury tried to contact Leland Rapport, the resident district manager of Chartwells, to appeal her dismissal. According to Asbury, Rapport returned her calls on Tuesday and told her he learned that the man who walked past her had gone straight to
the bathroom – but that they couldn’t reverse the decision. “It’s a voice I don’t have,” Asbury said. “None of us Chartwells employees have a voice. If it happened to me, it can happen to somebody else.” At-will employees After declining several opportunities to comment on its decision, Chartwells released a statement. Among the questions asked and left unanswered: Why is this is an offense that warrants dismissal? “Due to privacy concerns and confidentiality laws, we are not at liberty to discuss or comment upon specific associates or issues surrounding their employment,” the statement read. “Employment decisions are based on established policies and procedures, and applicable state and
federal employment laws.” Chartwells employees are atwill employees, which means the company can break the employment contract without liability. Kenneth Casebeer, a professor at the UM School of Law, said Chartwells can legally dismiss employees for “good reason, bad reason or no reason at all.” “It’s a very pro-employer rule that Florida has reiterated again and again, and for the reason that it promotes certainty of business costs,” said Casebeer, who has a background in employment law. “Of course, if an employer can walk away from an employment contract at any time, then they don’t have any costs associated with getting rid of employees or having to plan for any kind of due process.” SEE CHARTWELLS, PAGE 2
FUN-SIZED FILM PAGE 7
FOOTBALL FACEOFF PAGE 9