Student Council unanimously passed a resolution last night in favor of a living wage for all full-time, direct and contract workers.
Resolution sponsor and Council President Micah Schwartz said he was excited about Council's endeavor to assert a higher moral standard for the University.
"I think it's a moral choice and we will do what we can to ensure that a living wage becomes a reality for all University employees," Schwartz said.
A generous turnout for the community concerns portion of the Council meeting encouraged Council members to seriously consider the resolution.
Charlottesville Vice-Mayor Meredith Richards began the community concerns forum by providing Council with background poverty information.
"Charlottesville has for years and decades been at the center of the social services for the region's poor," Richards said.
She added that Charlottesville passed a guaranteed living wage for all city employees in 1999 and would like to see the University follow suit.
Richards, however, also cited the stumbling block to passing a living wage.
"In 2000, the state General Assembly passed a law which said that contracts for city services can include a 'best value' clause which is interpreted in several different ways," Richards said.
Board of Visitors Secretary Alexander "Sandy" Gilliam said, due to several past opinions of the state Attorney General, "it would be illegal for us to be involved" in the Living Wage campaign.
Richards said she thinks otherwise.
"We respectfully disagree and would and could pursue this in court if challenged," she said. "This is a moral, social and economic issue and we believe it's also a best value issue."
Leonard W. Sandridge, University executive vice president and chief operating officer, spoke on behalf of the University at the meeting in order to clarify the University's policies and restraints regarding the issue.
Sandridge emphasized that the University is an agent of the state and not an independent municipality like the City, and therefore the University has "a different policy and interpretation of the 'best value' clause."
"We have no reasonable opportunity to take a position," Sandridge said. "But we commend you for what you are doing."
Earlysville resident Andrew Holden spoke about his involvement with the living wage campaign.
"As far as what Mr. Sandridge said and as someone who has never earned more than $8.65 an hour, that's bullshit," Holden said. "We're not concerned with what the attorney general says ... things like slavery were once according to what the attorney general said as well."
Many students, community organizations and University employees spoke passionately about what this initiative means to them.
Several amendments slowed the voting process when representatives began the debate.
Some attendees expressed concern regarding the potency and "weight" of Council's words within the resolution.
The initial resolution called for a living wage of $8.65, but the final passed resolution supplanted a federal poverty level formula to account for inflation.
Concerned about what Sandridge referred to as "market-level" wages, some Council representatives said they felt avoiding an exact amount would be to their advantage in such a morally potent issue.
"If we're going for a living wage, let's use a living wage formula," Engineering Rep. Ryan Grammer said.
After nearly an hour and a half of deliberation, the resolution passed, to sighs of relief.
"We won a moral victory tonight," College Rep. Clayton Powers said. "But there are still issues to address -- we need to follow through with this."
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