Every morning, Georgetown students walk into clean, sanitary classrooms and bathrooms all over campus. They have air-conditioned dorm rooms in the fall and clear walkways in the winter. But even as students are enjoying these indispensable services, many of those who provide them are not paid enough to feed and house their families and access basic health care. The University should heed the message of the Georgetown Solidarity Committee’s living wage campaign and pay all its workers a fair wage.
The Economic Policy Institute, a D.C.-based think tank, estimates a living wage in the District of Columbia to be $11.87 per hour. However, many that work on the Georgetown campus make as little as $7.20 per hour, a wage that falls well below both this standard and the federal poverty line. GSC has rightly resolved to change this inequity, and has published a report detailing the financial implications for employees receiving such low wages. Simply put, we agree that two parents who work 40 hours per week should not have to struggle to nourish and shelter their children.
In addition, Georgetown must ensure that all workers doing the same work receive the same wages. Georgetown employees earn at least $10.25 per hour in addition to health benefits and access to University facilities. However, the campus is also staffed by workers provided by subcontractors, including P&R Enterprises, Marriott, MailBoxes Etc. and Allied Security. P&R employees, who provide janitorial services for half the campus, mostly earn between $7.50 and $8.50 per hour and do not receive health benefits. Employees doing the same work on the same campus should not see such a drastic gap in pay and benefits. A similar campaign waged by students at Harvard University equalized wages for all workers doing the same jobs on its campus in spring 2001.
While we understand the difficulties presented by the University’s low endowment, especially when compared to Harvard’s, no budget crunches should supercede basic human rights. It is a double standard not to give employees equal pay for equal work. GSC’s living wage campaign exposes injustices that Georgetown cannot ignore.
