Link: http://www.emporianews.com/article/vcu-students-lead-charge-living-wage-fight
By Gregory Wise
RICHMOND – The fight for a living-minimum wage has garnered a lot of attention in Virginia thanks to student-led groups at Virginia Commonwealth University that have used their school’s status in the local community to spearhead a fight for change.
The Living Wage Campaign of VCU and Students for Social Action, two student led activism groups, have used a variety of tactics including silent protests and marches, to increase awareness for providing wages all Virginia workers can live on. These groups have attempted to make their point known by first focusing on their school, which happens to be one of the most powerful employers in the city.
VCU, the largest employer in the city of Richmond, currently employs more than 19,000 people and is the key to the living-wage debate within the city according to Dr. Mark Wood, director of VCU’s School of World Studies. “The university prides itself on being a model community, and one of the principles in supporting the health and well being of its community,” Wood said. “So, modeling that (principle) by providing everyone with a wage to provide for their own health is vital.”
To those involved in the Living Wage Campaign and Students for Social Action, being a model community would mean raising every employee’s wage above the designated “living-wage line,” which is the hourly wage a person working a 40-hour week would have to make in order to meet basic expenses in a designated area. This number, according to the living-wage calculator at www.mit.edu, is currently $10.39 for one single individual living in Richmond, Va., which is a $3.14 difference from the current minimum wage in Virginia. “We’re appealing to that strong sense of belonging, because we know VCU wants to do right by Richmond,” said Kathryn McNeal, a member of the Living Wage Campaign, “and as the largest employer in a city with a high poverty rate, (VCU) is in a strong position to do so.”
One of the main sources of argument thus far has been the company ARAMARK, which currently is VCU’s food service vendor and which pays many of its employees around $8.25 an hour. This wage led students to conduct a march on the employees’ behalf this past May. The protesters argument was these employees should be making around $15. The march received state-wide attention and led to a meeting with David Hanson, VCU’s chief operating officer.
Since that event, the student groups have continued their quest by holding protests and rallies as frequently as they can, contributing to what Wood calls a “much more organized set of demonstrations.” These events have included a silent protest and a living-wage forum, which have been held within the past two weeks.
While there still hasn’t been implementation of a living wage in Virginia or Richmond, there have been signs of progress. For one, the Virginia Senate passed a bill designed to raise the minimum wage to $9.75 by 2015, but the House of Delegates killed the bill in the crossover process.
For students involved in the Living Wage Campaign and Students for Social Action just getting people to recognize the issue is a start. However, the activists don’t think their work will be done until workers are paid a living wage. “I do not think it’s right at all,” Living Wage member Kaitlin Sine said, “and I’m passionate about issues that are immoral.”
March 4, 2014 (published in Emporia News)
Gregory Wise Jr. 