USM Workers Need a Living Wage!
USM President Dr. Joseph S. Paul and Provost Dr. Lance Nail
A full time job should keep you out of poverty--not in it. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the salary for a "modest yet adequate standard of living" for a single-parent household in Forrest County is $49,951, or $25 an hour. However, hundreds of full-time employees and graduate workers at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) earn less than an adequate standard of living pay. For example, custodial staff are currently paid less than $12 an hour, and some annual graduate stipends are only $8,200. Not only does USM pay poverty wages that no one can afford to live on adequately, but they also provide infrequent and scant raises. As a result, our graduate students are struggling, and employees with years of service make less than when they started due to the skyrocketing cost of living.
Sponsored by
To:
USM President Dr. Joseph S. Paul and Provost Dr. Lance Nail
From:
[Your Name]
United Campus Workers of Mississippi (UCWMS) is committed to ensuring dignity, fairness, and equity for all who work for the University System of Mississippi. We demand that the University of Southern Mississippi commit to the following:
1. Raise the minimum pay for all full-time employees to $25 an hour or $50,000 annual salary
2. Provide standardized, annual stipends for graduate workers of at least $35,000 after fees
3. Guarantee an annual inflation increase of 3%.
Let the University of Southern Mississippi know that you support a living wage for campus workers by signing this petition.