by Kara Furlong

Vanderbilt’s Faculty Senate sponsored a forum April 20 to discuss issues surrounding the ongoing debate over wages for the lowest-paid employees on campus.

The wage debate entered the forefront last November when a union representing about 570 of Vanderbilt’s more than 18,000 employees rejected a wage agreement presented by the administration. Among the groups the union represents are campus groundskeepers, dining services workers, custodians and skilled craft workers including carpenters, electricians and mechanics.

Negotiations resumed in December, and on March 14, members of Local 386 of the Laborers’ International Union of North America voted to accept a contract that raised wages for the three lowest pay grades, which encompass approximately 240 employees, by 16 to 18 percent.

Though the new two-year contract took effect March 28, some on campus continue to feel strongly about the issue, as evidenced by the nearly 40 faculty, staff and students in attendance at the forum.

Bruce Barry, professor of management and sociology at the Owen School and one of four panelists, described the basic premise behind living wage movements as the idea that “anybody who works full-time should not have to live in poverty.” 

The current federal minimum wage, in place since 1997, is $5.15 per hour, but the value of the minimum wage in relevance to cost of living in the United States has steadily declined since 1968, said Barry. Living wages are designed to guarantee that the basic costs of living for workers and their families are met without their having to rely on public assistance.

With the aid of federal statistics, Barry calculates that the living wage for a one-adult, two-child family living in Nashville is roughly $10.20 per hour, well above what Vanderbilt’s lowest-paid workers currently earn. And while living wage calculations take into account basic necessities, such as housing, food, transportation, clothing and health care, they don’t account for such “extras” as prescription medication, furniture, telephone service, life insurance or general savings.

Panelist Kathryn Anderson, associate professor of economics, argued that living wages are difficult to calculate accurately because too much depends on the size and structure of the family.

Looking at recent federal poverty lines, she said from an economics policy standpoint, living wage programs are largely ineffective in helping America’s poor. Instead, they more directly benefit members of the large middle class who happen to work low-paying jobs for supplemental income. When wages increase, they increase for middle-class workers too – though this is not the constituency they are intended to help.

In terms of policy, Anderson said, it is in an organization’s best interest to keep wages low because the lowest-paid workers are the least experienced and therefore the least productive. She argued that to remain competitive throughout the market, Vanderbilt must keep starting wages low and increase them as workers receive training and become better at their jobs.

That is the basic philosophy to which the university subscribes when hiring, according to Kevin Myatt, associate vice chancellor and chief human resources officer.

 “I ask myself, ‘What will it take for us to get the most qualified person into a job, and how can we develop that individual?’” said Myatt.

Myatt said that while 21 of Vanderbilt’s total number of employees earn $7.60 per hour – the lowest wage currently being paid to full-time workers on campus – the university will spend more than $100,000 in training those 21 employees.

Myatt cited some of Vanderbilt’s employee benefits – such as English as a Second Language programs, GED programs and the college tuition assistance program – as incentives that make the university an attractive place to work, especially for low-wage earners. He mentioned that to combat rising fuel costs, the university sponsors a program in which all employees may ride Metro buses to-and-from work for free. Staff can also take advantage of Health Plus classes and facilities free of charge.

“We try to provide people with the vehicles with which to elevate themselves,” said Myatt. He admitted that “wages are critically important,” but he said the longevity of many employees’ work experience at Vanderbilt speaks for itself.

Professor of Sociology Ronnie Steinberg believes these incentive programs are simply not enough when there are Vanderbilt employees “who work full-time, year-round,” yet still must supplement their earnings “through food stamps and Title 8 housing.”

Steinberg contends that Vanderbilt faces a moral imperative in adopting a living wage, which she has dubbed a “cost of survival wage.” She said Vanderbilt is responsible for the type of community it cultivates among all of its members, as well as the tone it sets for other Nashville businesses in terms of fair labor practices. 

“We don’t just work for money – we work for self esteem, we work for status and we work for dignity,” Steinberg said. “I believe that it is the responsibility of the faculty at Vanderbilt to deliberate on what type of place they want to work in, what kind of community they want to be a part of.”

Posted 05/02/05