A fair and good raise for IU staff is needed

As part of the IU staff, I believe that the IU staff needs a real raise this year. The most important reason is that the staff has suffered from unfair wage increases that have not compensated for inflation and the cost of living in Bloomington. IU workers are the lowest-paid staff in the Big Ten. This is simply unjust in a world-class institution such as IU. The staff works hard to keep IU a world-class institution. Upper administration has been mandated by President McRobbie to take a pay freeze, but ordinary staff cannot afford this. We need this money to survive in this turbulent economy. We cannot and should not simply accept less during this time of the trouble.

It has been suggested by IU administration that the question of wages for staff is incumbent upon the Indiana state legislature. The fact is, only 22 percent of IU funding comes from the state legislature. Moreover, enrollment is still up in the spring semester, as well as the endowment money coming into the University. IU administration determines how they choose to spend the money. We of the Communication Workers of America (CWA, Local 4730) believe Indiana should dip into the rainy day fund to help bulk up the Indiana education system as well as help jump start the state economy.    

Another reason that IU ought to give staff good wages is that IU, as the fifth-largest employer in the state, can help stimulate and jump-start the economy. For too long, economists believed that giving the rich tax breaks and leaving them to do as they please would result in a trickle-down effect. However, this way of thinking has dismally failed. It is necessary now for institutions such as IU to put money into the hands of ordinary folks in order to get the economy going. The more that is spent by ordinary people, the better off the economy is because workers will spend that money rather than hoard it. Therefore, a good staff wage increase is not only a matter of social justice – it is matter of sound economic policy.

Edward Vasquez
Executive Board Member IU Local 4730, CWA