University President John T. Casteen, III. said that the University will increase its wages to provide market-competitive compensation to it's lowest paid employees.
In a statement issued March 7, Casteen said the minimum hiring rate, or the salary provided to entry-level employees, is expected to rise by $0.49 to $9.37 per hour.
The increase will go into effect later this month, University spokesperson Carol Wood said, adding that the University participates in local market study surveys each year, and this wage increase is a result of the most recent survey.
"We do the surveys on a regular basis," Wood said. "It allows us to continue to watch the market trends and adjust entry-level wages to reflect the market analysis."
Casteen said in an e-mail that entry-level wages have risen rapidly in the local marketplace and adjustments for University employees are needed, particularly because classified wages are indexed to the state wage increases prescribed by the General Assembly, which do not reflect the higher cost of housing in the area.
"This hurts everyone, but it hurts persons whose earnings are at the entry level or bottom of the schedule," Casteen said.
The announcement follows the spring elections, completed last week, where a majority of voting students voiced their support for a "living wage" of $10.72 for all University employees.
Casteen said the recently announced adjustments in Charlottesville unrelated to the living wage movement at the University, which he said has not offered adequate support for its contention that $10.72 constitutes a living wage, explained the origin of the figure or provided accurate comparisons.
"We have never seen a computation base for the wages mentioned in local living wage publications, and persons enrolled in the course that apparently generated this spring's campaign have offered no suggestion as to where they got their numbers or how their numbers compare to wages paid in localities with living wage ordinances," Casteen said.
The hourly wages the local living wage campaign has requested are higher than any reported by Virginia localities with living wage ordinances, Casteen added.
The University Medical Center conducts its own market study to determine the wages of its employees independent of the rest of the University. Both the University and the University Medical Center concluded that it was necessary to raise entry-level wages $0.49 to $9.37, Wood said.
"He [released the competitive compensation statement] to coordinate with changes in the Health System," Wood said.
Third-year College student Benjamin Van Dyne, a representative from the Living Wage campaign, said that requiring a living wage for employees would not be illegal.
"It wouldn't be uncharted legal territory, because three other jurisdictions have done it and have had absolutely no legal actions taken against them," Van Dyne said, discussing the city governments of Arlington, Alexandria and Charlottesville.
Van Dyne said the pay increase is a good step for the University, but more change is needed.
"We're very happy about this," he said. "For workers who make very little every penny counts. But while we applaud this most recent pay increase, it's not enough."
According to Van Dyne, the new pay increase will put University entry-level wage earners just above the federal poverty threshold.
The wage increase will affect 120 full-time, 3 part-time and 117 temporary academic employees, as well as 83 full-time, 7 part-time and 50 temporary University Medical Center employees, Wood said.
Casteen said that ultimately students would have to finance some of the increases in the form of higher dorm rental fees and other charges.
"There is no magic source of money, and in the end customers pay wages," Casteen said.
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