Representatives of eight organizations comprising the Cornell Living Wage Coalition held a news conference Feb. 21 to praise President Hunter Rawlings' "strong moral stand" in supporting a living wage for all Cornell employees and to announce "an ambitious public education effort" to garner campus support for wage increases.
Rawlings, in his annual address to employees Dec. 13, said his administration has been working to improve staff and faculty salaries for the past several years. A six-year plan to enhance faculty compensation in both endowed and contract units is under way. For staff, average salary increases and "salary improvement pools" have outpaced the inflation rate for the past three years, he noted, but said there were still "substantial issues to address."
"We intend to address the issue of a living wage assertively," he said, by increasing pay band minima for jobs in the five lowest bands and increasing wages for people already employed in those bands. The university will continue its multiyear overall pay improvement process for all staff and, he said, "continue to evaluate and improve our benefits package for all employees -- statutory and endowed." He also announced new efforts: a child-care scholarship program "to assist those with financial need with the cost of child care"; an emergency fund to assist employees who face unforeseen hardship; and a policy to allow staff to donate sick or vacation time to colleagues who face serious illness or injury.
"As community members, we are extremely proud of the strong moral stand you and Vice President Mary Opperman have taken" on the living wage, said a letter signed by coalition members and distributed at the news conference in Robert Purcell Union. "A great institution is a humane one, and your desire to ensure that every Cornell worker receives a fair living wage argues for the inviolable humanity of every member of our community."
The letter urged that the living wage standard be "reasonable" and adequate for workers who face holiday and summer layoffs; that it cover all full-time workers including those in collective bargaining units; and that it should be implemented "now."
Ken Reardon, associate professor in city and regional planning, who moderated the news conference, said Rawlings' Dec. 13 support of the living wage was "historic," adding that it was important for Cornell, as one of the region's largest employers, to show leadership in this area.
Paul Sawyer, professor of English, representing Faculty United to Support Employees (FUSE), said faculty were grateful for the salary improvement program they had received and that "we stand proudly with the coalition" in supporting salary increases for all Cornell employees.
Three undergraduate students spoke at the news conference. Julia Stone, president of United Progressives, said her group "is 100 percent behind [the living wage effort] and enthusiastic about it." Christina M. Ingoglia, president of Cornell Organization for Labor Action (COLA), said her group is sponsoring a campuswide education campaign to convince students that the living wage for employees "is not about tuition, but about priorities and values." Joe McNearney of COLA said members will be setting up informational tables around campus and will present programs in the residence halls to explain the living wage effort and why students should support it.
Harry Evans, president of UAW Local 2300, which represents approximately 1,050 employees on campus, thanked Rawlings for his efforts to improve salary and benefits for all employees, especially in the area of child care. "We need it bad," he said.
Organizations in the Cornell Living Wage Coalition are the Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy, United Progressive Alumni, the Tompkins County Living Wage Coalition, Justice for All, FUSE, United Progressives, Local 2300 of the UAW and COLA. Speakers said they expect other organizations to join as community education efforts get under way.
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