We call on the UTK Chancellor Donde Plowman to make the following changes:

1. Raise the minimum wage to $20/hour or $41,600/year immediately and to $25/hour or $52,000/year by the 2025 fiscal year;

2. Increase salaries under $80,000 to address wage compression or inversion, as well as gender and racial inequities in pay;

3. Implement immediate annual cost of living adjustments for all employees—before any merit raises;

4. Link higher administrators’ raises to the raise pools of other UTK workers, in order to address the inequity of administrator raises that far outpace those of faculty and staff.

We are asking for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, to institute a minimum wage of $20 per hour, so that every full-time UTK employee moves closer to earning a living wage.

According to MIT, a living wage for one working adult with one child in Knox County in 2022 is $28.55/hour. The Knoxville Area Association of Realtors in 2022 reported that average apartment rents have increased nearly 20% over the previous year and 47% since 2019, and the average rent is currently $1,504/month—nearly $450 per month higher than 2019, according to their Forecast Report. Similarly, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Index, during the second quarter of 2022 Knoxville ranked 13th out of the top 100 metro areas in the country for home price growth, with an increase of 18.3% over the previous year. Meanwhile, nearly one quarter of UT’s “competitive” market salary ranges start below $40,000 per year, and many essential positions remain unfilled.

The current $15/hr minimum wage on campus leaves many full-time employees struggling to make ends meet, including disproportionate numbers of Black and women workers. UTK is one of Knoxville’s largest employers and has the ability to positively impact our community. Rather than suppressing local wages and contributing to a high, racially-uneven poverty rate, UTK should pay a $20/hour minimum wage to attract and maintain a more stable workforce, contribute to the sustainability of living in Knoxville, and support local businesses.

List of signers here.