Join us for the Living Wage Campaign Speak Out on January 24th from 4-6 PM! This event will be held at the Purdue Graduate Student Center (504 Northwestern Ave).

We're holding this speak out to bring together workers at Purdue who demand a living wage. It's unacceptable that the university continues to pay less than a $15/h living wage to thousands of staff, graduate workers, and undergraduate workers, who make the university run every day. We have the potential power to transform our lives, the university, and our community. Speaking out, sharing your personal story, and listening to coworkers’ stories are important steps to pulling more people into the movement and realizing our power.

We'll start things off with opening remarks from featured speakers Tithi Bhattacharya, Marisa Yerace, and David Sanders. Then, the speak out will take the form of an open mic for any worker at Purdue to share why earning a living wage is important to them. If you can speak during the open mic, please choose that option when you RSVP. We will also be serving food and drinks.

The goal of this event is to hear from workers at Purdue about how their current wages impact their lives, and how a living wage would make a difference for them. We look forward to seeing you there!

Featured Speakers

Tithi Bhattacharya is an Associate Professor of South Asian History and the Director of Global Studies. She is the author of The Sentinels of Culture: Class, Education, and the Colonial Intellectual in Bengal, Social Reproduction Theory: Remapping Class, Recentering Oppression and co-author of Feminism for the 99% A Manifesto, and on the editorial board of Spectre and Studies on Asia. She is a longtime activist for Palestinian justice. Despite her commitment to complete human liberation, at home Dr. Bhattacharya is forced to live a life of complete servitude to her cat, Cleveland the Valiant.

Marisa Yerace is a PhD student of Rhetoric and Composition, Assistant Director of Introductory Composition at Purdue, and Purdue Graduate Student Government Alternate Senator from the English Department. Her dissertation examines how writing programs supported their faculty during the March 2020 emergency switch to remote teaching. As a graduate student, Marisa tries to keep a work-life balance by making time for game nights with friends, cooking, and hiking on the weekends.

David Sanders is an Associate Professor of Biological Sciences and member of the West Lafayette City Council. In 2022, he was a candidate for Indiana State Senator District 23. Dr. Sanders has served as Chair of the Purdue University Senate and is a National Council member of the American Association of University Professors. He discovered a biochemical reaction behind the entry of cancer-causing retroviruses into cells, invented novel gene-therapy delivery techniques, and is an expert on the Ebola virus. Dr. Sanders originated the idea of “Molecule of the Year” feature in Science and his favorite hobby is going to archeological sites.