Over the summer, the Sharpe Refectory (the Ratty) is one of three on-campus dining halls open to Summer@Brown students, along with the Blue Room and the V-Dub. However, it is the only location that does not have air conditioning, despite serving the highest need, regularly serving 3,000+ people over the course of a day.

Workers run the Ratty, doing the fundamental work of preparing and serving food, cleaning and maintaining the space, and swiping in and interacting with students. However, they are working under unacceptable, dangerous conditions, and Brown Dining Services management is willfully not taking action. Over the summer, temperatures in Providence can reach up to 95 degrees, and yet, workers are expected to handle hot food for multiple hours on end with limited breaks and only a few fans to blow around humid, stale air. Workers have been falling ill due to the heat, forcing others to sacrifice their days off in order to meet demand. The side dining rooms, which are used for alumni occasions and other institutional events, have air conditioning, and so do the offices of the predominantly white managers and administrators. Workers, who are primarily working-class Black and Latinx people, have been pushing to get air conditioning every year for the last twenty years during union contract negotiations without success. It's time to hold management at Dining Services accountable.

We, the undersigned, demand that Dining Services management takes seriously the lives and health of its workers by putting air conditioning in the Main Dining Room and kitchens.