Protesters from multiple campus unions marched on Bascom Hill Wednesday to advocate for all university workers’ wages in the All Campus Rally for a Living Wage.
Michael Billeaux, co-president of the on-campus graduate employee labor union Teaching Assistants Association, said the protesters hoped to put pressure on the administration to begin considering a serious campus-wide living wage for all employees by holding the event.
“Everyone who works for UW needs a raise, particularly the blue-collar workers on this campus who haven’t seen a real wage increase for six years, and many of whom don’t make a living wage by any measure,” Billeaux said.
Billeaux said some UW-Madison workers make $12 an hour, less than the Madison living wage of $12.62. He also criticized the administration for claiming its hands are tied by state regulations and budgetary issues, saying it is really an issue of power.
“We want to make sure we are high on [the administration’s] list of priorities,” he said.
More than 400 UW classified staff do not make the city of Madison living wage and more than 900 make under $15 an hour, according to the unions.
Student Labor Action Coalition member Megan Phillips said during the march they are trying to obtain higher wages for students so they don’t graduate with an “unbelievably high” amount of debt.
“We’re leading the [Associated Students of Madison] side of the living wage campaign … from the perspective that there’s a gap in the cost that students are able to pay on part-time jobs and the cost of tuition,” Phillips said.
The protesters then marched to Chancellor Rebecca Blank’s office in Bascom Hall to deliver trick-or-treat bags for living wages and sing songs of protest.
Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Darrell Bazzell said in a statement Wednesday the university has not been able to pay all employees the living wage because it has not had control over pay programs and policies.
Bazzell then said a new personnel system from the HR Design initiative will be launched July 1 and allow the university to give all classified employees a living wage.
The university made a similar claim in 2011 on a webpage describing living wages.
“While a complete redesign will take a few years, the university wants to bring all currently classified staff up to at least the City of Madison living wage starting on July 1, 2013,” the webpage states.
That statement came before the state Legislature delayed the university's implementation of several HR Design components. The delay has pushed the planned implementation date back two years to July 2015.
