“It is something that we are not going to let slide,” he said.

According to the survey, 19 percent of the workers reported being injured on the job — with most suffering falls, cuts and burns. Nearly half reported an annual household income of under $30,000, and one-fifth said that they had more than one job. But only seven workers said that they had health insurance through their job, while about four-fifths said that they received Medicaid.

“When we learned about the working conditions and health and safety issues at campus food vendors and cafeterias, we were shocked,” said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. As a result, he said, his union has launched a campaign to “ensure that their workers are treated with dignity and respect and that students and faculty get the services they deserve at CUNY.”

Tightening control over all CUNY-related foundations has been a goal of Mr. Thompson, a former city comptroller who was appointed in 2016 by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, since the New York State inspector general criticized the university’s financial practices as “ripe for abuse.” To that end, Mr. Thompson said at the board meeting that CUNY would seek to centralize the awarding of future food service contracts, in hopes of identifying two or three vendors who could effectively serve all campuses.