Past and present student workers express exhaustion of their constant battle for a living wage.
University of Wisconsin-Madison tuition prices for the 2023-24 school year are an estimated $10,798 for Wisconsin residents and $39,428 for non-residents, according to the university’s financial aid website. With a rise in tuition prices on the horizon, according to recent news, some students need jobs at school to sustain their lifestyles.
Two current student workers said they work between four and 10 hours a week at their campus jobs but require second jobs in order to pay for rent, food and entertainment.
“I’m out of state, and if I didn’t have help with tuition, I wouldn't be able to attend this school … A job like this isn’t supposed to help you succeed,” said a supervisor at Memorial Union about his current hourly pay.
Past wage battles at UW-Madison
The University of Wisconsin Systems website states that since 1903 when Charles Van Hise became president of UW-Madison, there have been discussions about tuition affordability — this includes conversations on how student wages can be altered to make paying for tuition achievable for full-time students, according to UW-Madison’s website.
In 1904, Van Hise introduced a philosophy called the Wisconsin Idea. He proposed that all Wisconsin residents should be able to reap the benefits of public higher education since part of their taxes fund the UW System. This would mean tuition would be affordable and students would only be limited based on their academic performance, at least according to UW-Madison’s website.
Sixty years later, a major problem arose for student workers.
Frank Emspak, a 1965 graduate of UW-Madison, was one of the many student workers who unionized to address unfair wages. During the 1960s, student workers at UW-Madison were paid less than Wisconsin’s minimum wage — $1.25 at the time, according to Emspak. Emspak and the other students in the union encouraged the university to adopt a work-study program. This program would benefit students by allowing them to have a realistic work and school balance, since students would only work 10 hours a week and be able to cover their tuition in full.
Emspak said his experience in the union changed his perspectives on the power students hold when it comes to their wages. He firmly believes that with hard work, change is possible.
“We maybe spent a year talking to a committee,” Emspak said. “The university set up to meet with us and got nowhere, but then when the committee saw that we were actually organized and that we might have the ability to actually pull off an action, they decided that the best thing to do was say they’ll grant a wage increase.”
In one of Emspak’s recent articles, he said after gaining the support of Dean Martha Peterson the starting wage for student workers was raised to Wisconsin’s minimum wage at the time.
Today’s wage battles at UW-Madison
Today, Emspak continues to advocate for student workers and has devoted much of his time to analyzing UW-Madison’s financial situation.
“Fundamentally, we have to take a look at the way the university is financed, and it cannot be financed anymore through tuition,” said Emspak.
Some current student workers feel disrespected by the university and think their education is no longer prioritized. Amelia Wilson has been a university tour guide for four semesters and still requires two jobs to afford her rent.
“As tour guides, we are the faces of the university. It’s really frustrating to think about how much we as tour guides do for the university and how little they do for us in return,” said Wilson.
An anonymous tour guide supervisor said she not only feels underpaid, but she is also scheduled for one-third of the hours she was initially promised. She has relied on a second job to continue her education at UW-Madison as well.
“If you want a job for actual livable money, it is not feasible to only have this job,” said the supervisor about their campus position.
They followed up by explaining, “There should be more allocated to the student workers who work so hard at their jobs everyday, setting aside schoolwork or other responsibilities to help their various work sectors function, something which I feel is not respected or valued.”
Wages for some student jobs start at as little as $12 an hour. This begs the question of how one pays for schooling on top of those expenditures.
The average amount of student loan debt for graduating seniors who needed financial assistance in 2021 was $27,107, according to a UW news release.
In Emspak’s view, one way to make changes in student wages and tuition would require a change at the state level in order for the UW System to receive more taxpayer money.
“We are often told we are the 'face of the university,'" an anonymous student worker said. “It would be nice to be compensated in a way that reflects that.”