The Cafeteria for the Toronto Training Academy (TTA) was located on the first floor of the school's main residential hall. The cafeteria was open seven days a week. It consisted of a short-order grill, a salad and delicatessen bar, a soda fountain, and a hot-meals counter, although the latter was not operated on weekends. It was heavily utilized by the students and by others during the week for food and as a social center. On weekends its use was rather limited, since many TTA students were commuters and others left campus for the weekend. What business there was tended to come in spurts due in part to the use of the building for special workshops and other group activities.
During the weekend the cafeteria employed a different crew of workers than during the week. All seven of the weekend employees were students except for the cashier, who was a housewife in her mid-30s. Two of the employees were attending high school; the senior student supervisor was from a two-year business college, and the remaining three workers were from TTA.
Ernie Slim, the senior student supervisor, had been employed at the cafeteria for four years, a long period of employment for the cafeteria, and had worked his way up from grill attendant to his supervisory position. He was a shy, friendly character who rarely worked directly with the public but spent most of his time in the "back room" making food preparations for take-out and banquet orders. Henry Delano, the junior student supervisor, was more personable with the customers, often standing and chatting with them. He spent most of his day walking around overseeing the other employees, sometimes helping them when they found themselves bogged down with orders, or working the grill and fountain positions by himself while others took breaks. Having had no previous experience before beginning the job, Henry was often forced to rely on employees below him to explain tasks.
Two male students usually worked the grill, and during slow hours of the day they were required to work in the dishroom. Two female students worked the fountain and deli bar and during slow hours bused cafeteria tables. The cashier's job only required her to attend the register and at the end of the day determine the total income. This position was always occupied (even during weekdays) by an older, more mature woman.
All worked under the general regulations of the cafeteria, which required that all employees be neatly and cleanly attired. Girls were to wear hairnets and blue smocks over skirts, while boys had to wear white work shirts and paper hats. Sideburns were not permitted to extend below the ear lobe, and beards were not allowed. Mustaches had to be neat and closely trimmed, not extending beyond the width of the upper lip. Good sanitary practices were expected of all employees, and the regulations included the statement: "Loud talking, singing, whistling, or horseplay will not be tolerated." A pay differential was established, depending upon the individual's position, time employed, and whether the student had purchased a meal ticket. Weekend and weekday employees were on the same wage scale, and the pay range for grill and fountain employees was between the minimum wage and 30 percent higher, while the supervisors received double that of the employees. Except for the supervisors, the job was not considered a very desirable one; and, in fact, it had been a last-resort choice by every weekend employee.
Since the cafeteria was open from 12:30 to 7 on weekends, only one shift of workers was needed. All weekend employees worked on an eight-hour day and were allowed a half hour for dinner and given a 15-minute coffee break. These breaks were given at the discretion of the supervisors, but employees felt free to ask for them if they thought business was slow enough.
Scheduling, hiring, and firing were all done by the cafeteria manager, Mrs. Laraby, a middle-aged woman who had been manager for five years. She worked a 40-hour week, Monday through Friday, and rarely came into the cafeteria on weekends unless there was a special banquet to be set up. As manager she encouraged a relaxed working atmosphere but expected each employee to be responsible for his or her job and to strictly observe the regulations of the cafeteria. Although she was firm about what she expected of her workers, Mrs. Laraby was willing to listen to any problems encountered by the employees. As a result, they respected Mrs. Laraby and felt comfortable enough in her presence to joke with her, although they were careful not to whenever her boss was around.
Grill products were of the hamburger and hot dog variety: the fountain's main business was ice cream cones; the deli bar served salads, desserts, and cold sandwiches, most of which had been made during the week and were now in the "staling" process. All beverage machines were self-service. A customer passed down the food line and paid the cashier located at the end of the line.
During the weekends no large-quantity food preparation was done, leaving the large kitchen area desolate and open to all employees. This large back room was blocked from the customer's view by walls that separated it from the food service area.
All employees performed the essential tasks that their jobs demanded of them, but without much enthusiasm. The working atmosphere was extremely relaxed and lenient, and, since the work was menial, there was a flexible setup in which almost everyone could operate in another's position. Frequently the fountain person helped out the grill individual, and vice versa. However, a large portion of the working day passed with only a few customers trickling in. There was little opportunity to converse with friends coming through the food line, as was commonplace during the weekdays. This left the employees with much idle time.
The employees were close in age and shared common interests. Many friendships were formed. Supervisors were treated as equals and joked and fooled around with the others. In the back room (kitchen) as time al-lowed, the male employees-including the supervisors-often engaged in a game of floor hockey, using brooms as sticks and a stale bagel as a puck. The crew also participated in other sports. One was "baseball" played with a spatula and a hard-boiled egg. Another was "king of the eggs." This game was particularly popular with the female employees. The idea was to find the "king egg" in a batch of hardboiled eggs destined to be used eventually in egg salad. The game required two players. Each chose an egg; then one party held her egg firmly in one hand while the other person used her egg to hit the immobile egg. The player whose egg withstood the impact without cracking was declared the winner and continued to challenge any other potential players. Of all the games, only baseball ruined any appreciable quantity of usable food.
There had never been any crackdown attempts on this behavior, which occurred only on weekends when the large kitchen was not in use and no older supervisors or managers were present.
Participation in these events was left up to the individual, but the usual participants included the three male student workers and the supervisor. The fountain girls took part in games such as the egg cracking less frequently, while the cashier never participated in any events but read during long intervals between customers. The general attitude of all employees toward these tournaments was favorable except, as a fountain employee put it, "when you get stuck doing all the work while the others are out back having fun."
On occasion, when employees were engaged in these tournaments, business picked up in the food service area. Then the one or two individuals left attending the fountain or grill were swamped with orders, finding it impossible to leave their jobs and notify the others in the back room of the customer influx. It placed a lot of pressure on these workers and, if this happened, it meant that customers waited a long time for their orders.
One Sunday during a normal midday lull, the three men and the supervisor were deep into a game of bagel hockey in the back room. The participants were totally involved in their fun and did not notice that there was an influx of customers, that the other attendants were overwhelmed at both grill and fountain, and that the cashier was busy at her register. On this particular
occasion, Mrs. Laraby, the cafeteria manager, decided to pick up a book she had left in her office. Entering through the cafeteria, she first came upon the swamped employees; then proceeding to enter the back room, she discovered an exuberant hockey game in progress!