Last year it seemed as if anyone with a semester of Econ 51 under his belt, a conservative leaning and a bit of free time took the opportunity to characterize the campaign for a living wage at Duke as ignorant, frivolous, even as one Chronicle columnist noted "a sick manifestation of the natural human will-to-power"-whatever that means.
It was discouraging to see Duke students argue with thinly veiled self-interest that the implementation of a living wage at Duke is economically unfeasible and that paying low-wage workers more will not matter because an extra buck's never made anyone happier.
The current state of affairs is even more troubling. With little evidence of change, the dialogue has disappeared. The issue has fallen by the wayside in favor of more pressing commitments. Just look at this semester-between time spent with the greeks, purgatory-like stints in K-ville and the vast pleasures of Elliott's website, a student has no time to discuss, much less act upon, the notion that we have a responsibility to provide for those who provide for us. With the sad but opportune passing of Elliott's, however, I am begging you to take the time to care.
Implementing a living wage at Duke-a wage that would provide for the specific living needs of a resident of Durham, including the costs of housing, health care, transportation, food, child-care and other basic necessities-is economically feasible. A living wage increases with inflation, and though costly, would dramatically improve the lives of all Duke employees, including contracted workers.
Duke, the largest employer in Durham, is morally responsible for the welfare of faculty, staff and all individuals who work to maintain or enrich the University. We are a society that preaches kindness and benevolence while too often acting with detachment and self-interest. As it stands, laborers are not being provided with the income necessary to maintain a basic standard of living.
President Richard Brodhead has taken a tremendous step toward rectifying this injustice by increasing the minimum wage for Duke full- and part-time employees to $10 an hour. I applaud President Brodhead for his vision, but in recognizing the need to raise the wages of those workers, he must necessarily recognize that same need for contracted workers. Providing contracted workers with a living wage will certainly not be as easy to actualize as doing so for Duke's direct employees. But if the school prioritizes such a goal, it can be accomplished.
Duke, I believe, should allocate to the contracted workers or organizations a monetary amount equal to the difference between the living wage and their employer-provided wages. This is just one of several progressive options which utilize our position as a non-profit institution. These options must be examined by the administration. Furthermore, it is imperative that the wage for all employees be adjusted annually for inflation, or 10 years from now even those Duke employees who now make $10 will be in the same dire situation they were in only a bit ago.
As Duke students, we are at a specific time and place where our effort and support can make a significant difference. The cost of doing so will be substantial. It is important to remember, though, that we are a wealthy institution; only two years ago, the University concluded an 8-year fundraising campaign that raised more than $2.36 billion dollars.
Incurring the cost of a living wage might require that Duke reallocate funds earmarked for other programs or projects. Ultimately, raising wages might require that we, as students, be willing to make a sacrifice.
This is perhaps why so many of us are unwilling to support the work of Duke Students Against Sweatshops or Duke Organizing. We, as a University, as a student body, have not displayed the moral fortitude necessary to sacrifice our iPods, our Spanish benches, our hopes of a "reinvigorated" BC walkway or any of the other constant pampering showered upon us to support the greater good.
We are idealists until we are forced to incur costs. Then we get selfish. We start to make excuses.
The BIG PICTURE suddenly becomes our concern-we wildly and pessimistically predict that if we divert funds from any project or program, our University will not be able to attract the best students, that Duke will be left impotent and unable to maintain its rank among the nation's elite universities.
We must not allow our egoism and detachment to inspire pessimistic predictions of highly remote consequences. This issue is about taking the opportunity to better people's lives. The responsibility is ours, as is the privilege.
Daniel Bowes is a Trinity junior. His column runs every other Monday.
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