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Monday, August 24, 1998

Layoffs, relocations to come from closure of UCLA Storehouse

STOREHOUSE: Some workers, customers upset by decision to change supply provider

By Lawrence Ferchaw

Daily Bruin Staff

The 38 employees of the UCLA Storehouse sat Thursday morning among cases of copy paper and ink cartridges and heard that by February, the Storehouse would be shut down.

The announcement only confirmed rumors of the Storehouse's closure for employees, who speculated that the sale of the building and recommendations from outside consultants were the real reasons behind the closure.

"This type of thing was mandated some time ago, when consultants came in the storehouse," said Jim Parnell, the receiving and physical operations manager of the Storehouse.

Half of the Storehouse's employees will be laid off, said Sam Morabito, associate vice chancellor of business and finance. The Storehouse will be phased out by February to be replaced by the office supply chain Office Depot.

"No one likes to announce people will be laid off," Morabito said.

"Hopefully we'll be able to place these folks, and it will be a win-win situation for the campus and the staff."

Currently, the Storehouse - where some employees have worked for more than 30 years - is the supplier for most of the office and general supplies of the campus. Over the next five months, Office Depot will replace the Storehouse as the primary supplier to campus departments.

Because Office Depot cannot supply all the items needed by the campus community, a smaller storehouse facility will still be maintained. About half of the Storehouse employees will be transferred to this new facility, which is a few blocks away from the current Culver City site.

The other half will be placed on a layoff list which will be determined within six weeks. Those employees on the layoff list who do not find another job with the university will receive 60 days of severance pay.

Morabito told the employees he would try to find jobs for them within the business and finance department. He also indicated Office Depot is interested in hiring some of the employees.

The campus' human resources department will provide training for employees to find jobs elsewhere.

"The goal is to place everyone, but I can't guarantee it," Morabito said.

Office Depot will begin servicing part of the campus Oct. 1 and expand to cover all areas by February.

"Office Depot affords the campus the best combination of service and cost," Morabito said.

Business and Finance took bids from many outside vendors and compared the prices to what the Storehouse offered. Morabito said the outside vendors were cheaper.

Some Storehouse employees disagreed with this, however. They produced a selected list of their prices and prices at Office Depot. Most of the items on that list are cheaper from the Storehouse.

Morabito said that if one looks at all the items and prices offered by Office Depot, the switch would save money for the campus.

Some people were surprised by the decision, despite the rumors.

"It was a shock to everybody," said Parnell, who has worked there for 38 years and expects to keep his job under the new system.

"It's no longer a rumor; now it's a reality," he added.

Indeed, Morabito made it clear during the meeting that the decision was final, and even if Office Depot is unable to handle the campus' needs, officials would look for a new vendor.

"We're committed to this delivery and distribution method-ology," Morabito said. He pointed out that other universities use a similar system to take advantage of the discounts that large outside vendors can get from manufacturers.

The last time something similar happened at the Storehouse was in 1991, when the staff of over 150 was reduced to little more than 40.

"We still made it work," said one employee who did not wish to be identified. "The people here work hard."

Morabito acknowledged their effort, but pointed to the $6 million debt that had accumulated in the years that the Storehouse had not met its financial obligations. Last year, the Storehouse was profitable for the first time in the 1990s.

Much of the question and answer session which followed Morabito's announcement was consumed by employees challenging the logic of closing the Storehouse and questioning the motives.

"What he's after is this building. That's what this is," one employee said after Morabito left the meeting.

The building and the land will be sold by the university. Proceeds will go to pay some of the Storehouse's debt. Morabito said that selling the land was not the reason for closing the Storehouse.

Other employees pointed to satisfaction with the Storehouse and the ease of ordering and delivery.

A survey of on-campus customers taken by the Storehouse showed a 92 percent approval of the ordering system and 81 percent approval of the pricing competitiveness.

"After talking to customers, there's no way they'll be able to do it," said the employee who did not want to be identified. "(Our customers) are already stretched thin."

One of those customers agreed with the employee's assessment.

"I like the Storehouse; it made it easier," said Anna Lebon, storeroom manager for the psychology department.

Campus departments can use an internal billing system when they buy supplies from the Storehouse, saving on paperwork. Using outside vendors requires purchase orders and invoices that must go through an accounting department to be paid.

Morabito said he hopes the Office Depot plan will reduce the number of invoices. The university will also pay Office Depot electronically by wiring funds.

Campus departments will also be encouraged to order their supplies through the Internet, a plan Storehouse employees questioned at the meeting.

Departments will still be able to order over the phone or by fax, Morabito pointed out.

Lebon said she doesn't plan to use Office Depot for supplies because she has found their prices to be higher.

Using Office Depot will be optional, just as using the Storehouse has been, but Morabito said he wants people to "keep an open mind."

"They need to take advantage of lower prices so they can save resources for their departments," Morabito said.

Despite the impending closure, one Storehouse employee said the Storehouse's service offers will not change between now and February.

"As long as we're here, we'll continue to provide customers with best possible service to the end," Parnell said.