'I'm fighting this battle by myself': Robin Lee wins Rebecca Clark Award for Moral Courage

For UNC housekeeper Robin Lee, winning the Rebecca Clark Staff Award for Moral Courage is not the end of her fight for higher wages for UNC housekeepers. Instead, she hopes it will help continue her efforts.

The award, named after a former UNC staff member who pushed for fair wages and working conditions, is given annually on University Day to recognize a staff member who advocates for fellow University employees. Individuals are nominated each year, and the winner is selected by the Employee Forum. 

“[Clark] was a person that didn't mind getting in, doing the work, saying what needs to be said, and just advocating for other people on campus as well as advocating for herself,” Keith Hines, vice chair of the forum, said. “And that's not any different from Miss Robin Lee.”

Lee said she felt proud to receive the award because of Clark’s legacy. 

Over the past two years, Lee has strongly advocated for higher wages for UNC housekeepers, rallying and speaking out in addition to meeting with N.C. lawmakers. 

For Hines, Lee’s dedication to advocating for higher wages is what made her stand out as the clear winner of the award this year.

“She does it because she cares about the people she works with, and she cares about their conditions, and simply because it's the right thing to do,” Hines said. “So it was not really a hard decision in choosing her.”

However, Lee said she would like to see more action from the University concerning housekeeper wages. 

As employees under the State Human Resources Act, wages of UNC housekeepers are set by the yearly budget passed by the N.C. state legislature. Raises and bonuses are limited by the Office of State Human Resources. The 2023-24 N.C. state budget allows for a 7 percent pay raise for state employees over the next two years. This raise will put housekeepers’ hourly rate at around $18 compared to their current $16.81 rate. 

However, this wage increase still does not meet housekeepers' demands of $20 per hour.

She said she would like to have more support when asking for higher wages. Lee said that lately, her efforts don't have much support from her co-workers — something she hopes to see change in the future. 

“The only thing they're doing is sitting around, complaining what the University need to do, but they're not doing anything about it,” Lee said. “It just seems like I'm doing it by myself, I'm fighting this battle by myself.”

Junior Stevie Levite lived in Kenan Residence Hall last year, where Lee currently works as a housekeeper. She spoke highly of Lee’s caring nature.

“She always went out of her way to make sure that we felt comfortable,” Levite said. 

She also said she believes that Lee needs more support in her efforts. She expressed frustration with the lack of action from UNC Administration amid Lee receiving the award.  

“I love that they appreciate our housekeepers, but it feels sometimes performative when they make these posts honoring them, but [housekeepers] are still struggling so much with their job to make ends meet,” Levite said.

UNC Administration cannot directly increase wages. Still, Levite said she believes that efforts such as letter-writing campaigns or a speech from a high-profile UNC figure — such as Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz — to the N.C. General Assembly would have a positive influence. 

“I think that would be really important and kind of a bare minimum, in my opinion, because if you really appreciate the housekeeping staff, then I think that it's the least that our school can try and do,” Levite said. 

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