The Living Wage Coalition united 24 student organizations in a rally in Red Square yesterday to express support for the effort to raise the “poverty-level” wages of subcontracted workers. According to LWC spokesman Jack Mahoney (CAS ‘08), the rally and a student phone calling campaign alerted University President John J. DeGioia and Senior Vice President Spiros Dimolitsas to LWC’s demands to put public pressure on the administration.
LWC member Mary Nagle (CAS ‘05) said that the question of a living wage is one of basic survival for Georgetown workers.
“Sleeping in a warm place and being able to put clothes on your children’s backs are basic needs,” she said.
The rally marked the first public appearance of the workers in the campaign. Two P&R Enterprises employees expressed their gratitude to the Living Wage Coalition for its efforts thus far. They testified to the effects of low pay.
“We work hard, but the truth is we get paid very little,” ICC night worker Silvia Garcia explained through a Spanish translator.
Faculty members also offered support for the LWC’s work. Theology professor Father Raymond Kemp said that Georgetown’s religious identity necessitates a raise in wages.
“Georgetown’s being the first Catholic and first Jesuit university means that we here are the leader, and must communicate our cause to the other 26 Catholic Jesuit universities,” he said.
“You have tickled the conscience of Georgetown,” President of the D.C. Metro Labor Union Joslin Williams said. “If you are the face of the future, America is in good hands.”
University spokesperson Julie Greene-Bataille, however, said that raising workers’ wages is complicated.
“It’s important to know that a variety of issues must be considered in the analysis, including the fact that raising wages too high could have the unintended negative consequence of layoffs that would actually hurt the workers we’re trying to help,” she said.
The Students of Georgetown, Inc. Board of Directors presented the LWC with a check for $2,758.50 as compensation for the help workers provide in removing the trash at Corp establishments. Chief operating officer Adam Giblin (SFS ‘07) said that the money will be distributed through the LWC to the workers.
“The funds are going to be used for things like breakfasts for the workers and particularly for family emergencies,” he said. “The main message that we want to send is that we are here to help.”
Corp President Jon Carpenter (MSB ‘05) expressed the Corp’s dedication and support for the LWC’s cause.
“The Corp encourages the University to follow our lead” he said. “We will continue this tradition, giving this support every year until the University takes action.”
When the University will take action to meet the Coalition’s demands remains uncertain. Georgetown’s Advisory Committee on Business Practices, under Dimolitsas’ direction, will meet on March 14 to further discuss the possibility of a wage increase.
