By John P. Leonard
Student employees at the University may want to start filling out applications at McDonalds, with several on-campus jobs falling below minimum wage.
The New York State minimum wage standard was raised to $6.75 an hour on Jan. 1 , but several departments still pay last year’s wage of $6, Roberta Frisch, the acting manager of Student Employment Services said. The University is exempt from paying minimum wage to full-time students.
“You’d think that if they want student employees to perform at the highest level, they would at least pay them minimum wage,” said Olin Parker, the vice president of the Student Government Association.
While the University does not meet the state-wide standard, its starting wage is still higher than the federal minimum wage, which is $5.15 an hour, which has not been raised since 1997.
“It’s just another way to duck their budget,” said Ashley Stallworth, a senior at the University, and an employee of the Calkins Design Lab.
Many student employees, which the University estimates 3,000 students, 400 of whom work within public safety, said they didn’t know how their salaries compared to federal and state standards.
“You wouldn’t know because they don’t show you how much you’re getting paid an hour on your check,” said Jackie Sherbow, a sophomore RSR.
The issue plays into a larger national debate regarding minimum wage. To this day, only a handful of states and Washington D.C. have taken action in raising minimum wage.
Roberta Frisch, the acting manager of Student Employment Services said that while the starting wage may seem low, “the majority of students do make more than minimum wage.”
As for the departments that don’t meet the $6.75 wage she said, “We don’t manage everyone’s budget.”
Ed Bracht, director of public safety, said his department is “only allowed a certain amount.”
Each department must undertake the task of distributing funds in a way that will allow them to employ the maximum number of students, Frisch said.
Bracht also noted that it isn’t a topic of opinion, but rather one of “working within the scope of what you are given.”
While their salaries remain lower than most of the workforce, Frisch said the on campus jobs have their benefits. Students working on campus save money on transportation and are able to work in an environment sensitive to their academic needs; courtesies off-campus employers do not provide, she said.
“The University needs to offer competitive wages so students can buy things that are priced at competitive prices, like books,” Kindal Ingham, a senior in the drama department, who has jobs both on and off campus, said.
Many students, however, find the higher wages are worth the scheduling conflicts and transportation costs. Employers like Bloomingdale’s start sales associates “in the neighborhood of $8.50,” a human resources representative said, and wages increase depending on position and experience. Starbuck’s starts employees at $7.75 and McDonald’s at $6.75.
Even one of the higher-paying on-campus jobs, a certified fitness instructor who earns $15 per hour, receives much less than an instructor at Bally’s Total Fitness, who earns $20 to $40 an hour, depending on how many register for a class.
There is no word yet on whether or not the University will take action when the hourly minimum wage is raised to $7.15 in 2007.
Nearly 3,000 students are employed by the University in positions all over campus.