The Building Service and Food Service workers held an informational picket outside of the Florida Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue Residence Halls during freshmen move-in on Thursday.

One union member yelled amidst the bustling students and parents, “How can they spend a million dollars on administrators that have forced to resign because of scandals?”

Claire Hettinger on Twitter: “Food and service workers hold informational picket @UnivHousing as students move in pic.twitter.com/pmpeBmogi3 / Twitter”

Food and service workers hold informational picket @UnivHousing as students move in pic.twitter.com/pmpeBmogi3

The workers are represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 73.

The purpose of the picket was to emphasize the lack of recognition that they feel they receive for their services as well as highlight ongoing contract negotiations with the University. SEIU workers’ contributions range from cooking for and cleaning residence halls to delivering campus mail and shoveling snow.

“We are out here today to make everyone aware that we are in contract negotiations with the University,” Aaron Ammons, SEIU Local 73 president, said. “We feel like we’re not being treated with the level of dignity and respect that we deserve.”

Ammons said their contract with the University ended in July, so they’re working on an extended contract that improves their wages. He said some of the University’s proposals suggested cutting worker’s opportunities to have overtime.

There have been around 30 meetings with University housing and other University departments since February. Local 73 went on a three-day strike in March 2013 over similar reasons.

“They say, of course, that the easy answer answer for everyone is budget cuts,”Ammons said. “But we know they have been given millions and hundreds of millions of dollars in stop-gap money. We know that they have money in reserves. We know they have money to pay top-notch administrators.”

Ammons also said they’re understaffed.

“We feel like there needs to be an approach by management to continue the same level and the standards of cleaning. Don’t tell our members to cut corners. The students here, and the amount of money the parents pay, they deserve to get the level of service that demands.”

The union represents around 650 employees of the about 700 that work in these field, Ammons said.

“We are negotiating in good faith with Food Service Workers and Building Service Workers to reach agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement that reflects the current difficult economic climate and that is fair to all of the affected constituent groups,” campus spokesperson Robin Kaler wrote via email.