Wagers Rage On

As of today, 19 students have been fasting for 11 days.

The enthusiasm of the folks behind the UVA Living Wage campaign is truly inspiring. In addition to the now 19 hunger strikers, dedicated supporters have been rallying from 10am - 5pm for over a week outside the Rotunda, maintaining a constant presence to remind the University of its obligations. I've been able to make it out to three of their recent rallies in the past week, and although the song remains the same, it becomes more inspiring each time I hear it. The collective spirit present at the rallies leads it to take on its own character that makes it even greater than the sum of our individual experiences, and, as more and more people show up, the voices becomes stronger and more colorful, creating a chorus that will not be silenced.

Joseph, a football player who's striking.

It's empowering to be surrounding by nearly one hundred people willing to march, shout, and strike for social justice. The strength of a united voice shouting "The people united will never be defeated!" or "1-2-3-4 No one should be working poor/ 5-6-7-8 U-V-A Living Wage!" cannot be denied. It's beautiful to see so many diverse people showing solidarity with the campaign, whether employees, students from different schools at UVA, community members, athletes, professors, club members, or other wagers from other universities. The collective voice of the wagers is full and powerful- it spans a dynamic range of experiences and backgrounds that overwhelms the heterogeneous voice of the Board of Visitors (who represent a very privileged, exclusive tradition).

The new relationships that form as supporters introduce themselves, ask questions, and share their experiences is similarly precious. It's nice to see a public space like the Rotunda steps being used for socioeconomic activism. I've met some inspiring people after rallies, including Joseph, a football player striking on the campaign and students who work alongside employees. The genuine compassion of all of the wagers is visible from the students who are loudly and passionately chanting to those who are on hunger strike and speak with a tired, raspy voice.

The hunger strikers outside Madison Hall last Thursday.

I couldn't help but be reminded of the energy I felt in the Fujimori Nunca Más march in Peru, especially as UVa wagers shouted, "Un pueblo unido nunca será vencido" in solidarity with UVA's latino employees. Yet the Living Wage is a different cause for me. It is more intimate and ingrained in the community that I live in. I interact with underpaid workers every single day at school before, in between, and after classes. Yet it is in my classes where I learn about the values of socio-economic justice and why workers' deserve a dignified wage. I don't want to continue to live in an environment of hypocrisy, which is why I am compelled to join in the discourse, dialogue, and chorus supporting the UVA Living Wage campaign.

It's frustrating, however, to not be heard despite the broad base of support. Five representatives of the campaign, including professors, grad students, and an employee met with President Sullivan yesterday. Although the meeting was on good terms, there has been no progress towards a living wage. How much longer will the hunger strike have to continue? The campaign needs more voices and more bodies for it to succeed. Get involved and speak out!

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UVA Living Wage Campaign Website
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Photos courtesy of me! Feel free to use under a Creative Common's License with attribution.

A UVa tradition of injustice begets a tradition of activism

I’ve been a sideline supporter of the UVa Living Wage campaign since I attended a rally first semester of my second year. Today I went to a rally in front of the Rotunda to encourage the Board of Visitors to adopt a living wage, and I was surprised by the extent of the enthusiasm, dedication, and sense of community among the wagers and hunger strikers. One speaker, a former Georgetown student activist native to Charlottesville, wisely observed that while the University has a tradition of injustice, it also has a tradition of social organization to fight said injustices. The Living Wage campaign has been active for over fourteen years at the University, and its rallies, marches, petitions (from students, community members, & professors), and sit-ins, however, have been unsuccessful. Left with no other options, students of the Living Wage campaign initiated a hunger strike five days ago. Realizing the severity of the situation, I decided to find out more about the campaign and get more involved.

At the heart of the campaign is the desire for economic justice- a value that is taught in UVa’s classrooms but hypocritically not observed by its administrators, including University President Theresa Sullivan who edited a book that wrote that a living wage was necessary for workers to achieve “self-actualization.” A living wage, however, is also needed for basic surivival. The number itself is the calculated as the minimum needed for a family of four (with two working adults and two children) to meet basic needs such as housing, food, transportation, utilities, etc. The UVa Living Wage campaign, using information from the Economic Policy Institute, is fighting for the wage of $13/ hour + benefits for over a thousand of direct and contracted workers at UVa.

17 students are on hunger strike for the campaign.

One of the reasons that I was originally hesitant to get involved in the campaign was because I was wary of the lack of employee involvement in the campaign. Why should college students try to speak for hardworking adults? I secretly wondered if the members were motivated by the guilt from being over-privileged college students.  Needless to say, I was wrong about both things. UVa employees have tried to speak out in favor of their rights- only to be reproached and threatened by their supervisors. One woman was silenced after attending a rally during her lunch hour. Two employees that were walking by a rally and shouted in solidarity were captured on camera and were forced to have a meeting with their supervisors the next day. The fact is, UVa workers do not have the right to organize, and it is up to the students and faculty who benefit from their service to fight for their rights. It is our duty as part of the so-called "community of trust."

Charlottesville is a unique city- its poverty rate is three times the average for Virginia while its cost of living exceeds the average. And the city's largest employer is the University of Virginia. Yet direct and contracted workers do not make enough to provide for their families. Contracted Aramark workers that serve food in the university’s dining halls have to rely on foodstamps and food pantries to get their own food. Others have to work second and third jobs, despite, in many instances, having some college education. The University is insulting the dignity of their workers and all the students and faculty who stand in solidarity with them.

The University can afford to give workers a living wage, much like other leading private and public universities ranging from Yale to UC-Berkeley. UVa is not a small business that will have to decrease its employment to fund wage increases; it is a multi-billion dollar institution. Instituting a living wage would cost less than a one percent of its operating budget, but, more importantly, it will affirm the values of social justice taught in its classrooms.

The University has a dark history of racism, sexism, and workers’ oppression. Some workers still refer to the system in place at the school as a “plantation.” However, as one rally speaker wisely noted today, the University also has a strong tradition of fighting for social and economic justice, and we are on the right side of history. So,What do we want? A LIVING WAGE. When do we want it? NOW. 

**Get involved! Sign the Change.org Petition (almost 1,000 signatures so far!) 

Source: UVA Living Wage Website

Photo courtesy of the UVA Living Wage's Facebook