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