United Students Against Sweatshops rally to raise minimum wage
Black liberation studies and performing arts major Kelsey Coleman leads chants and energized the crowd at the TimeFor22 Rally on April 28, 2023 (Aaron Wright/ The Black Explosion)
“The people united will never be defeated!”
“What do we want?”
“Living wages!”
“When do we want it?”
“Now!”
These are some chants that were heard on April 28 at the Timefor22 rally, where students, faculty, staff and onlookers called for a higher minimum wage and the right for University of Maryland employees to unionize.
The rally was hosted by this university’s chapter of United Students Against Sweatshops, an undergraduate student organization that advocates for university workers’ rights. Kelsey Coleman, a senior Black liberation studies and performing arts major, organized the protest because she believes unions are part of a healthy democracy.
“We think it is a shame that at this university and across the state of Maryland and public colleges and universities, workers — meaning teachers, faculty, grad students, undergraduate students, contractual staff, and research assistants — do not have the legal right to unionize,” Coleman said.
The rally featured a crowd of over a hundred attendees including undergraduates and graduate students, professors, campus workers and members of other labor rights groups. While Coleman served as the host of the event, members from USAS Local 54, Fearless Student Employees, and more spoke on the importance of the TimeFor22 meeting.
Freshman psychology major Devin Moore came to the rally because as a student worker, they believe the university can afford to raise the minimum wage to $22.65 an hour.
“There are a lot of funds that go into this school, especially with tuition and everything. So I feel like we definitely need to raise the minimum to be from $15 to $22.65,” Moore said.
USAS chose the hourly wage of $22.65 based on the MIT Living Wage Calculator. According to the website, an hourly wage of $22.31 is considered a living wage for living in Prince George’s County.
For labor groups like USAS and FSE, a minimum wage increase and the ability to unionize gives workers on campus the ability to protect themselves from being overworked and underpaid.
Carolyn Robbins, a grad student and FSE member, challenged University of Maryland President Darryll Pines, Dean of the Graduate School at this university Steve Fetter, and Provost Jennifer Rice to live off the graduate stipend of $25,538 for nine months. This is less than an annual salary of $31,200 for someone working 40 hours at $15 per hour.
“I’m willing to offer this challenge because we all know that it’s impossible and that none of you would ever even attempt it because it would be so difficult, inconvenient and complicated,” Robbins said.
A group of students and members of USAS Local 54 holding banners and signs calling for unions. (Aaron Wright/The Black Explosion)
Other organizations including the American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, also spoke about the importance of legalizing the right to unionize.
Currently, the University of Maryland doesn’t allow faculty or graduate students on campus the ability to unionize, or the ability to negotiate contracts.
Marcus Johnson, an assistant professor of government and politics and member of UMD AAUP, said that he was surprised that he didn’t have the right to vote to be in a union. So in raising awareness for this issue, he asked attendees to spread the word about this movement.
“Let them know this is real, so that when we do this in the fall, there’s more people on [McKeldin Mall], they know what we’re here for, and we’re making more, and more, more noise until the walls start to shake,” Johnson said.
Erin Green, a PhD candidate in the English department, says she got involved with the labor movement because she hates capitalism and wanted to show solidarity with all the workers on the mall.
“It’s not enough to just complain about what’s happening and the low wages and poor working conditions,” Green said. “In order for this to succeed … we need to just all get involved and help to actually change it.”