UVA LIVING WAGE NOW- Community Calls for Action

As the area’s largest employer, the University of Virginia has a responsibility — indeed, an obligation — to improve our community.
We believe that the University has neglected this obligation and continues to do so. We call on you to take action by finally resolving the issue of living wages at the University in a fair, satisfying, and comprehensive way. We call on you to take this action now.

As you surely recognize, the University affects the cost of living in Charlottesville in major ways, particularly with respect to housing costs. We believe that the University could offset the negative impacts of its increasing these costs for some of our community’s most vulnerable members by paying its employees enough to meet the cost of living.

We remind you that in 2000 the University committed to a base pay increase for direct employees, and that we commended you for doing so.
That increase, however, did not include cost of living adjustments, nor did it include contracted employees. We had hoped that these issues would be addressed in a timely manner — certainly by now, a dozen years later.

During that period, the Living Wage Campaign, currently configured as Workers And Students United, repeatedly presented its scrupulous research and stated its case with deep respect for administrative process. Concurrently, we in the community have stood with workers, students, and faculty. We have called on you to listen to their concerns, rallied, written letters, and requested meetings. In good faith, all of us have asked for commitments from you. The arguments have now been presented, the necessity and practicality of action proven.

Overall, it must be said, we have not been satisfied with the University’s response. Frankly, at times we have even been disappointed by the dismissive tone of University communications. Such feelings, however, are fleeting compared with the enduring nature of the issues at stake.  And like those issues, the Living Wage Campaign will not go away — that is, until those issues are resolved in a fair, satisfying, and comprehensive manner.

The time for straight answers and firm commitments is here. The University of Virginia needs to pay a living wage to all of its employees. We believe that the University has the potential to be a powerful force for positive change in our community. To further this end, we call for:

- a living wage of no less than $13.00 per hour as the base pay for all direct employees;
- cost of living adjustments that are automatic and annual;
- all contracts with University service providers to include a living wage and cost of living adjustments

Albemarle-Charlottesville NAACP

David Swanson- founder WarIsACrime.org, author, blogger

M. Rick Turner- president Albemarle-Charlottesville NAACP

Brenda Lambert- Community Activist

Jim Shea- Community Activist

Jeffery Fogel- Civil Rights Attorney