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"The University Labor Action Group celebrated City Council's decision
to pay its employees an $8 living wage and the Living Wage Campaign's first
birthday at a rally in front of City Hall" (Jessie M. Kokrda, The
Cavalier Daily, April 16, 1999).
"As area business owners, city officials and members of local
service organizations signed the Living Wage pledge, their t-shirts asked
one question: 'Where's UVA?'" (Jessie M. Kokrda, The Cavalier Daily,
April 16, 1999).
"The University continues to pay many of its employees, such
as housekeepers and office workers, less than $8 an hour, placing them below
the federal
poverty level of $16,450 for a family of four" (Jessie M. Kokrda,
The Cavalier Daily, April 16, 1999). According to the Labor Action Group,
the starting salary for a UVA housekeeper is $12,756 and the starting salary
for a UVA office worker is $15,588 (Labor Action Group, January 5, 1999).
The City
of Charlottesville "passed a living wage raise Wednesday guaranteeing
all city employees an $8 wage. Meredith Richards, vice mayor and city council
member, said the city was conducting a market analysis to see how the wages
of city employees compete with the private sector. The city is also using
$250,000 of its budgetary surplus for continuing education and professional
training for city employees, Richards said" (Jessie M. Kokrda, The
Cavalier Daily, April 16, 1999).
"'We have set the standard, we have gotten our house in order,
we hope that the other major employer in town will follow,' she said in
a speech" (Jessie M. Kokrda, The Cavalier Daily, April 16, 1999).
"So far, UVa officials have stated that their hands are tied
by the state, which sets the salaries of all classified employees at Virginia's
state institutions ... In his State of the University Address on Wednesday,
President John T. Casteen III said UVa unsuccessfully tried to push legislation
through this year's General Assembly session that would have granted the
university more control over its employees salaries" (Maria Sanminiatelli,
The Daily Progress, April 16, 1999).
"The resolution, which was submitted by State Sen. Yvonne B.
Miller, D-Norfolk, directed the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission
to study the costs and benefits of providing a 'living wage' to all state
employees. However, a Commisssion on the Reform of the Classified Compensation
Plan is currently studing the wages and benefits, UVa officials have said"
(Maria Sanminiatelli, The Daily Progress, April 16, 1999).
"But, said LAG member (Associate English Professor) Susan Fraiman:
'UVa could still ... put pressure on those private firms who contract with
the university to pay their workers a living wage, and it could take the
lead in lobbying Richmond to raise wages for lower-grade classified staff'"
(Maria Sanminiatelli, The Daily Progress, April 16, 1999).
After a recent Democratic breakfast, city council member Blake Caravati
spoke eloquently about the importance of developing a system which supports
upward job mobility for employees but acknowledged that the recent commitment
of the city to pay its employees an $8 living wage does not currently extend
to the Charlottesville School District. He also said that the city does
not currently put pressure on private firms who contract with the city to
pay their workers a living wage (Blake Caravati, April 17, 1999).
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