The Living Wage Campaign at UVA is getting louder. Last night, amid chanting and passionate applause, a packed Newcomb Hall Ballroom was host to an event and press conference that featured University students, faculty and some city officials.
The event marked the release of the “Keeping our Promises” report crafted by students in an effort to persuade the UVA administration to pay its lowest-paid employees a living wage.
Last night also marked the official launch of the Faculty Support Committee composed of a group of 12 faculty members from a variety of disciplines (a number that is estimated to grow, according to speaker and committee member Professor Susan Fraiman).
In this instance, Fraiman told the audience, “the students are schooling us.”
As previously reported by C-VILLE, the campaign is asking the University for a minimum wage of $11.44 an hour, the same amount the City of Charlottesville pays its workers.
City Mayor Dave Norris, along with Councilors Kristin Szakos and Satyendra Huja, read a resolution, that was passed unanimously by City Council in May, 2010, that asked local governments and the University of Virginia to pay their workers at least $11.44 an hour.
“We must make them a higher priorities,” said Norris of the workers and added that 25 percent of the city population lives below the poverty line. Many of those residents work at UVA.
In addition to the $11.44 minimum wage, the demands of the campaign are threefold. Students want the University to encourage full-time work. “As the University grows, the University must not simply hire temporary or part-time workers when full-time workers could be hired,” reads the report.
Secondly, the campaign demands that workers’ rights be respected. Lastly, in an effort to create fair working conditions, “the University must clearly publicize all available venues for reporting wage violations or unsafe working conditions.”
Ultimately, students hope the report will highlight the need for a living wage and its benefits on the community.
“This document reminds us that a living wage is a pro-business, pro-community, and pro-family wage system. Paying a decent wage serves the long-term interests of the University.”
To read the report, click here.
