Outsourcing worries employees

A change in the way University researchers get their materials has some worried that it could increase the price of their work and others concerned that it might cost them their jobs.

The UNC Scientific Storeroom, which supplies chemicals, gases and other laboratory materials to campus, will go up for bidding to potential vendors next month.

University officials say these companies will provide more cost-efficient transactions between manufacturers and customers.

“I guess it’s just their idea of cutting the fat,” said storeroom manager Allen Taylor, who has worked in the storeroom for 10 years.

Storeroom employees are skeptical about whether outsourcing their operation to a large company will be in UNC’s best interest — or theirs.

The “fat” Taylor referred to could include workers’ jobs, said Greg Hawkins, who has worked in the storeroom for 24 years. If the new vendor wants to cut costs, he said, workers could be among the first things to go.

“If you’re thinking about what’s best for the University, outsourcing our jobs is not the way to go.”

The storeroom operates as a trust fund. The small group of University workers buys products from various manufacturers in bulk at discounted prices.

Prices then are increased to compensate for any overhead costs — and to pay workers’ salaries. That essentially makes the storeroom a self-sufficient entity in which workers manage their own pay.

That system, employees said, allows prices to remain low when workers sell products to campus departments. By acting as intermediaries between manufacturers and researchers, storeroom employees give customers many more products from which they can choose.

“If you bring one vendor in here, they won’t be able to carry all the different materials,” said Sheila Perry, a 17-year storeroom veteran.

But Martha Pendergrass, director of Material and Disbursement Services, said customers wouldn’t be limited to one brand even if UNC held a contract with a single distributor.

“One vendor cannot provide all that the research community needs,” Pendergrass said, adding that it is still too early to say which specific products will be available.

“As a result of (budget cuts) we have been looking at ways that we can drive the cost down,” Pendergrass said. “And one of the ways you can drive costs down is by taking out the middleman.”

But storeroom employees say they’re not the middleman — not in the common sense, anyway.

If anything, Ellis said, a new vendor will raise prices once it has a contract with UNC.

“We are here for the University,” Perry said. “We’re not here to enlarge someone’s pocketbook … and that’s what’s going to happen if a vendor comes in here.”

Administrators say a lack of variety and price hikes will not be an issue if outsourcing occurs. They also noted that any new vendor would have to keep current storeroom employees on payroll for six months after any change.

Eliminating the storeroom system is not new, said Roger Patterson, associate vice chancellor for finance.

“It’s been something that’s been used in higher education for a number of years,” he said.

Two years ago, the Department of Chemistry’s storeroom was outsourced, and in 1998 UNC’s office supplies storeroom was taken over by Staples Corp.

Not everyone feels the same way.

Tricia Ellis — the business officer in charge of purchasing materials needed in the 13 facilities in the Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine — gets at least one shipment a week from the storeroom.

Ellis said the current system works to her advantage because lab workers can choose among many available products and prices.

“I’m afraid that I’m going to lose that advantage where vendors have to compete with each other so that I get the best deal,” she said. “(Taylor) looks out for me. I’m not sure that a single source can do that.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.