University of Wisconsin employees and student organization members held a press conference Thursday to "lay groundwork" for enforcement of the Campus Living Wage Referendum.
The referendum — introduced on the Associated Students of Madison's fall elections ballot in hopes of compelling various university services, including the Memorial Union, to pay all of their workers a "living wage" of slightly above $10 per hour — has been dismissed by various UW officials because, according to the document's wording, they feel it does not apply to them.
Under the referendum, the ASM Student Services Finance Committee is obligated to decline hearing auxiliary budget proposals from various services unless they pay all of their workers the living wage. Because university officials have indicated employees will not receive pay raises following the referendum, SSFC is legally obligated not to hear their budget proposals.
If SSFC cannot hear the budget proposals based on their own bylaws, referendum supporters said the university would not be in compliance with shared governance laws.
"Students have the right to develop and implement policy at this institution," ASM Shared Governance Chair Eyal Halamish said. "University officials seem to be on some type of power trip, as I was confronted with at a recent meeting with [Chancellor John Wiley.]"
Halamish added the university "must now listen or face the courts," implying he and other supporters of the bill may file a lawsuit with UW based on shared governance violations.
Ryan Sarafolean, chair of the ASM Diversity Committee, added that "a lawsuit will be filed" as a "necessary action" if the university cannot propose auxiliary budgets before SSFC.
While supporters of the referendum, including the Student Labor Action Coalition, would like for all university employees to be paid a living wage, the measure was primarily directed at Limited Term Employees (LTEs), who are currently paid minimum wages.
Memorial Union worker and AFSCME 171 treasurer Mark Thomas said LTEs are given considerably less rights and freedoms than unionized workers and should be paid livable wages closer to those of their union counterparts.
