As the cost of living increases rapidly across the nation and within the city of Colorado Springs, UCCS wages continue to stagnate, making it increasingly difficult to live in Colorado Springs. We all need a raise! We need to raise the floor!

As recommended by the Modern Language Association (MLA), we demand faculty starting wages be increased starting in fall 2025:

• Assistant Professors: starting salary of $83,000 annually
• Instructors: starting salary of $75,000 annually
• Lecturers: $9,000 per three credit course

As recommended by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Living Wage calculator for El Paso County, we demand other wages be increased starting in fall 2025:

• Grad students: minimum $20,000 annually plus tuition remission
• University staff: starting salary of $75,000 annually
• Undergrad and other hourly workers: $22/hour

UCCS, like many public universities, relies on tuition for funding. Yet, we know that our general fund reserves have nearly doubled over the last four years, even considering that UCCS, like all universities, had to weather hits from the COVID-19 pandemic. Faculty members (lecturers, instructors, and assistant professors), for example, teach classes, bringing funds to the university. When considering the current rate of tuition and the number of students a typical instructor teaches per year, an instructor brings at least $250,000 annually. And yet, most instructors are paid on average around $50,000. Where does the money go? Here, we are asking that those who bring in most of the funds are compensated fairly.

UCCS salaries and wages are not competitive, and many workers leave for higher paying jobs in the private sector. Those who stay are often forced to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. This presents numerous challenges to departments who need to recruit quality students, teachers, and researchers. In addition many staff, graduate students and undergrad students are struggling to make ends meet leading to high turnover, low graduation rates and issues of sustainability.

UCCS works because we do. Few employees of the university work only their contracted hours. Lecturers, instructors, student workers, and university staff alike are pushed to take on unpaid work that benefits the university under the guise of advancing their career. Women and people of color are burdened with even more unpaid labor than their colleagues as they are asked to join countless committees and projects, ultimately tokenizing their valuable perspectives.

This situation is clearly unsustainable, and must significantly change to meet our moment, one defined by an exploding cost of living and by our inability to keep pace with it.

We do not demand these wages out of greed but because this is what we are worth as the workers who make UCCS run.

The administration seems to have no problem spending resources on huge compensation packages for upper administration, even with inadequate state funding. Yet, we know that the university receives more cash than it spends. We ask, again, where is the money going? It is time for the university to spread some of this wealth to the academic workers that keep the university running. Working conditions are learning conditions, and we demand what we are worth!