Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

University, Student Coalition Reach Wage Agreement

Georgetown administrators and the members of the Living Wage Coalition reached a compromise on wages for contracted workers Wednesday evening, bringing an eight day hunger strike involving 26 students to an end.

The university’s new “Just Employment Policy” raises the total compensation of contracted workers to a minimum of $13 per hour by July 1 this year and $14 per hour by July 1, 2007. It also grants contracted employees “access to appropriate grievance procedures” and to all of the same privileges accorded to directly hired employees. Directly hired employees will receive at least $14.08 per hour beginning July 1.

The Living Wage Coalition had originally sought minimum total compensation packages of $14.93 for contracted workers.

Following consultation with Advisory Committee on Business Practices Wednesday, Senior Vice President Spiros Demolitsas sent the proposal to University President John J. DeGioia.

DeGioia who then approved it and announced the new policy in a broadcast e-mail sent out Wednesday evening.

“I’m deeply grateful to the students, faculty and staff members of the Advisory Committee on Business Practices whose thinking helped inform this policy,” he said in the e-mail.

According to university spokeswoman Julie Green Bataille, the policy will cost $542,000 to fully implement over the next two years.

As lower paid workers see their salaries increase, numerous higher paid workers will see their salaries increase proportionately too. Bataille said 72 workers would be affected by this “wage compression.”

Although the new policy has fundamental similarities to the one proposed by Dimolitsas to the advisory committee prior to the hunger strike, members of the Living Wage Coalition said Thursday that they were pleased with the university’s new policy and believed that the hunger strike had sped approval of the new policy.

“We’re very happy and we just couldn’t be any happier,” Living Wage Coalition support member Rachel Murray (SFS ’07) said. “This is better than anything any other campus has done so far.”

Murray said that following DeGioia’s announcement, the protestors had resumed eating and even had a “dance party in Red Square.”

“We’ve been going around from building to building to tell the workers about the change in policy and they seem very happy,” she said.

By Thursday afternoon, the large white tent which the strikers had set up in Red Square had been completely dismantled and many of the former strikers were laughing and smiling.

Several of the strikers as well as representatives of the AFL-CIO met with DeGioia and other senior administrators Thursday to discuss the policy, Bataille said.

“The meeting was a good conversation where all parties discussed how glad they were for this to be resolved and to have taken steps that will make a difference for workers at Georgetown,” she said.

Two hunger strikers were hospitalized over the course of the strike which began March 15. Mike Wilson (COL ’05) was taken to Georgetown University Hospital Saturday after reporting vision problems. He later said that he was no longer on a hunger strike.

Zachary Pesavento (SFS ’08) was taken to the hospital Wednesday after complaining of dizziness. He was released later that day and by Thursday said that he felt “great.”

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