Opinion: UNC’s role requires raising standards for wages

UNC’s housekeeping staff does a lot for students living on campus. They take out pizza boxes people were too lazy to throw away themselves and clean up messes after long nights of partying, and they do it all with little gratitude or contact with students.

And despite all they do for this campus, the University pays entry-level housekeepers less than the living wage for a family of two working parents and two children in Orange County. And the same is true for the counties surrounding Orange County.

In order to compensate housing staff fairly for the work and give them adequate funding to live in the community they work in, the University should make it a priority to provide living wages for all its workers, but it should be especially conscious of groups that have historically been disempowered for a variety of reasons, including housekeepers.

UNC, it should be acknowledged, pays well above the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

According to UNC spokesperson Jim Gregory, an entry-level housekeeper position at UNC makes $12.64 per hour plus benefits. He rightfully pointed out that this is just 12 cents less per hour than Orange County’s self-determined living wage for a single adult. But many workers have to support families, so it would be wrongheaded to assume UNC is paying so close to a living wage across the board.

And still, according to UNC’s Human Resources website, open temporary housekeeping positions only pay $10.61 per hour.

It’s true UNC’s entry-level salary for housekeepers is better than salaries at a peer university like N.C. State University. The University deserves credit for this.

But as much as the University should be praised for standing out in this regard, it can still aspire to do better. Universities, as intellectual centers, are ideal places to lead fights for ethical standards in labor. This means universities are sometimes held to standards and a level of scrutiny not given to other institutions. Certainly all employers should strive to pay living wages to all their workers, but universities are ideal places to prove this goal can be achieved at highly functional, productive and complicated institutions.

Making living wages a priority for all UNC’s workers would also help to undo the shame of past scandals in the housing department stemming from highly unequal relationships.

It should be acknowledged why this may be difficult with the substantial cuts to UNC’s budget that have marked the post-recession years, but this is not an excuse to duck a chance to provide moral leadership — especially in light of the Board of Governors’ recent ill-conceived decision to give Chancellor Carol Folt and other system chancellors substantial raises.

It is imperative universities subject themselves to exacting ethical standards that extend into the realm of labor. Universities are ideal places to ask questions about the justice and efficacy of salary distribution. An essential part of UNC’s mission is to serve residents of North Carolina — these principles should not only include students.