Livable Wage for All University of Vermont Employees and Subsidiary Employees:

Resolution

WHEREAS, a livable wage is the hourly wage or annual income sufficient to meet a family’s basic needs plus all applicable Federal and State taxes. Basic needs include food, housing, child care, transportation, health care, clothing, household and personal expenses, insurance, and 5% savings,

WHEREAS, the University of Vermont, one of Vermont’s largest employers, currently does not guarantee wages for all University employees and those contracted by the University, that can meet their family’s basic needs, as calculated by the state of Vermont’s Joint Fiscal Office (JFO), as many other employers have in Vermont such as the City of Burlington, which guarantees a livable wage for all municipal workers as of the passing of a 2001 ordinance,

WHEREAS, all of the construction workers associated with the construction projects on campus such as, but not limited to, the University Heights Residential Hall Complex, and the Dudley H. Davis Student Center, are not guaranteed a livable wage or family sustaining benefits,

WHEREAS, President Daniel Fogel suggested in his 2005 convocation address that the University should become a premier university for social and economic justice as well as suggested that the University needs to “walk the walk” in support of these programs,

WHEREAS, students across campus support the need for workers to earn a livable wage, and have the freedom to organize to obtain this goal,

LET IT BE KNOWN, that the Student Government Association of the University of Vermont recommends that the University of Vermont set a precedent and compensate all their employees and subsidiary employees fairly, according to the livable wage for an urban area and corresponding family sustaining benefits as calculated by the State of Vermont Joint Fiscal Office.