I want to commend Workers And Students United (WASU) for an awesome job organizing The Living Wage Campaign at UVA. Their large and sustained student organizing has been unparalleled by any other CIO. Their work is truly inspiring and has rightly earned them the Ella Baker Social Justice Award.
For those of you unfamiliar with the what a living wage is, how it is calculated, history, economics, and legality of the living wage, and why it is important, please read the short research publication “Keeping Our Promises,” an extremely sobering, high quality, and easily understandable research document compiled by UVA students – I highly recommend you all read it all the way through and share its insight with your friends.
The University has such great economic power and moral responsibility to address the issue of poverty in Charlottesville as the city’s largest employer. The excuse “budgets are tight” is laughable from the point of view of our workers - the University is not struggling to get food on the table and make ends meet like many Charlottesville residents and workers. In my opinion, it is shameful that the University, for all its emphasis on “community outreach,” has not implemented the one thing that will be most impactful to the community – paying its workers just wages.
If you are interested in helping right this wrong, please show your support at the Living Wage Day of Action – Wednesday April 20th from 4-5:30pm outside Madison Hall.
Peace,
Seth
