A proposed referendum by the Student Labor Action Coalition would require Memorial Union and several other UW-Madison organizations to either pay employees a higher wage or lose funding.
The Union also provided a plan last week to deal with the issue of compensation for limited-term employees, who do not receive benefits, but it may not do enough, according to SLAC representative Josh Healey.
'The Union's policy is about giving limited-term employees full-term employment, which is very important, but it doesn't necessarily say anything about all workers having a living wage, so it doesn't affect students,' Healey said.
However, he acknowledged that 'what the Union is doing doesn't contradict what we're doing; our initiative should compliment, not add to what they're doing.'
But Michael Imbrogno, a representative of Local Union 171 and employee of Memorial Union, remains skeptical of the Union's plan. 'We've heard this song and dance before,' he said, 'and I don't believe it until it actually happens.'
Shayna Hetzel, vice president of external relations for the Wisconsin Union said the Union is neither for, nor against the proposal.
'If it passes, we'd work with the University and other auxiliaries to find a way to implement it,' Hetzel said.
According to Healey, if the referendum were to make it onto the ballot and be passed, 'it would mandate a living wage for all facilities that receive student segregated fees ?? meaning: the student unions, Rec. Sports and University Health Services.'
To keep receiving the aforementioned funds, those entities would be forced to raise their wages to 110 percent of the federal poverty line, around $10.23, according to SLAC.
'LTEs start making $7.25 an hour, and when you consider that the average wage for a sales associate at Wal-Mart is $8.53, it's like the Memorial Union treats its workers worse than Wal-Mart, which is certainly something that we would like to see changed,' Imbrogno said.
A similar referendum was passed by students in fall but was overturned by what a SLAC press release called 'a questionable technicality.' The new version of the referendum has been altered to 'meet any judicial challenges.'
In order to be put on the ballot for the ASM spring election, SLAC's referendum will require roughly 2,000 signatures, amounting to 5 percent of UW-Madison students, by the first week of March. At present the petition has 1,000 signatures.
