The Fight for a Living Wage

Across the country today, workers are joining the struggle for a living wage.

Why we seem so thoroughly convinced that universities shouldn’t get money from the state and yet seem perfectly content to let those same dollars subsidize the externalized costs of big companies is something tragic.

In any case, the reason I bring this up is because UNCG participates in this shameful low wage cabal. What I mean is that we aren’t all poor struggling to get by, UNCG just has some employees that it pays a pittance to and some who get fat raises at the same time.

For example, Tim Crews who has worked for UNCG for 19 years is employed full time for $10 an hour. If minimum wage had kept up with cost of living increases it would now be $18 an hour. So, we pay him only slightly more than half of what the absolute bare minimum pay should be.

After 25 years of loyal performance, Alice Courts only makes $23,762 a year. And she’s on the list of essential employees who must come to work at UNCG even when hazardous weather causes others to stay at home and the university to close.

Imogene Cathey, however, pulls in a handsome $85 an hour.

Jan Zink rakes in $137 per hour.

And they get to stay home.

UNCG has more than 200 full time employees earning less than $15/hour. Adjunct pay is shameful too.

Nancy Maree has been willingly teaching our students in the nursing program for 12 years and in return? She get $1,000. That’s all a class is worth? That’s all her expertise and insight are worth?

And, of course, the enormous raises given to those who already make more than they deserve continue to roll in. The execs get bigger salaries while the rest of us have to deal with nothing or fight among ourselves for scraps.

We are the workers.

We are the people.

We can do better.

How Much is Too Much? A Quick Note About Raises at UNCG

I have been going back through UNCG salary data since 2008/2009 and looking at the raises that each individual has received who is still employed by UNCG.

Wait, let me correct that. Generally speaking, I have been looking at the raise (singular) that most people have received during that time. Rhetoric of financial crisis aside, I have already found something disturbing…and I’ve only made it from Z – R.

James Ryan received a $4,000 raise.

Okay, I know that’s not terribly shocking on the face of it. I mean, it’s certainly not the largest raise (I could refer to Mike Tarrant’s $25,000 but why bother since he is leaving - I'll certainly refer to Kim Record's raises, but that's an article in and of itself to be address later).

What is shocking about it is that James Ryan was already being paid $350,000 per year. Yes, he makes more than the chancellor. He is, in fact, the highest paid employee at UNCG. Now, I will grant that he has done less damage to UNCG than the chancellor and for that he should be rewarded, but the question it raised in my mind is this:

We have folks who have been working with us for 10, 20, 30, 35 years who are making $20,000 a year. The raises the folks in that range have been given generally amount to no more than $300. Spread that over 12 months and you are saying, before taxes, here’s another $25 for your dedication, don't spend it all in one place!

Many who received these meager sums are the ‘essential employees’ who haveto come to work even when the university is closed. These raises certainly don’t keep up with the cost of living and we should be embarrassed as a university, as a government entity, and as human beings to hand another $4,000 to a man making $350k in the face of the poverty wages being paid to other members of our UNCG community.

I hope that should I ever be in the position to earn $350,000 a year and someone were to offer me a $4,000 increase, I would have the decency to not only decline their offer but to shame them for having made it in the first place.