THE REFRAIN of teenagers everywhere, "But mom, everybody else is doing it!" is often used and rarely successful. More complex forms of this argument crop up on college campuses. After Albermarle County's announcement that it has raised its minimum wage for county employees to eight dollars an hour, we will doubtless hear that the University must follow suit.
However, the "everybody's doing it" argument should not automatically dictate University policy. Like the city and county, the University needs to ask itself what will bolster the University's competitiveness as an employer. But, compensation is not the only way to accomplish this.
Activists at the University will claim that Albermarle County's action should shame the University. This, however, misrepresents the County's intention. In a telephone interview, Lee Catlin, community relations representative for the County Executive, cited county competitiveness as the motivation for raising wages. Catlin said that Albermarle County has difficulty keeping the best workers in such occupations as facility maintenance, and parks and recreation work.
The retention problems, says Catlin, stem from low unemployment rates in the area and the city of Charlottesville's 1999 minimum wage raise. Although the county foresees the University raising its wages, it was not trying to send a message.
Even if the county was trying to send a message, changing wages would affect few workers. According to University spokeswoman Louise Dudley, only about 200 of 11,000 full-time University employees are paid less than eight dollars an hour. She admitted that this doesn't include employees of contracted companies such as Aramark, which serves Newcomb, and Morrison's, which serves the hospital cafeteria. These employees have a greater number of workers making less than eight dollars an hour. However, the University does not dictate wage policies to these companies.
In addition, the University provides benefits that the County does not. Dudley points out that the University provides a range of programs, such as apprenticeships, to help workers increase their skills and move up on the pay scale.
Employees who qualify also can obtain college coursework free of charge. The University reimburses tuition for classes employees take at Piedmont Community College. Few employees at the bottom of the ladder have the educational background for this, but it does provide a follow up for those who have completed apprenticeship programs.
In the long run, these benefits assist employees more than if the University simply increased wages for a few workers to eight dollars an hour. Eight dollars is a catchy rallying cry, but it ignores the more complex issues at stake.
More important than a person's starting salary is the amount of time they spend at that pay level. College students know this intuitively. Many of us take unpaid summer internships instead of the short term gain of waiting tables because we know it will give us the opportunity to move more quickly up the ladder after graduation. Similarly, by taking advantage of the University's opportunities, employees could gain skills to boost them above the University's minimum pay.
The calculation of eight dollars an hour assumes that the lowest paid workers are supporting a family of four. However, Dudley contends that few workers at the bottom of the scale have three dependents: They either have no children or another worker in the household. Those employees supporting a family of four would probably benefit more from training than raising the minimum wage.
It's true that not many employees take advantage of the opportunities the University offers. Employees cannot train if they do not have supervisors willing to inform them of their options and cooperate on the issue of work schedules. University administrators need to make increasing employee skill levels a priority, and make it clear to supervisors that employees should not be penalized for trying to better themselves.
The County's minimum wage increase is probably its best way to stay competitive. Yet the University should look to its entire benefits package to make itself a better employer. Ensuring that employees feel comfortable using their benefits is a good way to start.
(Elizabeth Managan's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily.)
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