By Matt DeBlass
The promise of a better life and higher wages draws many students to a Raritan Valley Community College education. A group of students and faculty members, however, are looking beyond their own paychecks to the welfare of the security guards, custodians and cafeteria workers who keep the school safe, clean and fed.
The RVCC Living Wage Coalition believes the college has a responsibility to make sure that staff members receive a fair pay. “Taxpayers’ money should not be used to keep people in poverty,” said coalition spokesman Brock Haussamen.
The coalition wants to see these campus workers receive pay and benefits that are more competitive with what other local institutions offer. These positions are staffed by outside companies that hold contracts with the college. At the end of the month, the coalition plans to submit a proposal to RVCC President Casey Crabill outlining what it wants to see when these contracts come up for renewal in 2008.
Haussamen said part of the problem is that under the current contracts, the college has no say in the wages of these workers and may not even know what they are. “I think that the wages for people we see every day should not be a mystery,” Haussamen said. There are no published wages for these workers; the coalition had to rely on conversations with staff to get even a rough idea of their pay.
While workers employed at state-owned buildings must be paid at or above a certain level — it’s called the prevailing wage — buildings owned or leased by the county are not subject to these conditions. The New Jersey Prevailing Wage Act calls for $13.82 an hour for janitorial staff and $12.88 an hour for security guards. Haussamen said those positions apparently pay only $8 or $9 an hour at RVCC.
The Living Wage Coalition wants to see future contracts require that workers be paid $10.15 to $11.15 per hour, which is higher than the minimum wage but lower than the prevailing wage and still far below union scale. The coalition feels this is a reasonable expectation and would make a significant difference in the quality of living enjoyed by college staff.
There is an obvious concern about whether or not increasing wages will increase tuition costs or come at the expense of other areas of the college budget. Haussamen agreed that it’s very hard to predict how the proposal will affect the college overall. Contracts are bid by outside companies that compete to make the lowest overall proposal for their services. There may not even be a direct correlation between the amount that RVCC pays the company and what the workers receive as an hourly wage.
The coalition also feels that offering a better rate of pay will encourage better performance and lower turnover among the college staff.
“It’s not just that we’re being nice to them,” he said. “With better pay comes better service.” RVCC represents two of the most prosperous counties in the nation, and the coalition feels that the school’s reputation is affected by the quality of its staff as well as its academic faculty.
Student involvement in the Living Wage Campaign comes through the Phi Theta Kappa honor society and the Social Justice Club. For details, visit
http://groups.myspace.com/AEP.
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