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MESSAGES FROM OUR SUPPORTERS

Dear Vanderbilt Community Alliance:

I am just an average citizen, but the minimum wage you are receiving is unconscionable. No university should claim to be a beacon of progress and an asset to the community while paying such a wage. I am ashamed of Vanderbilt University.

Please keep Nashville citizens informed of your fight for fairness.

Sincerely,

Cynthia

Dear Vanderbilt Community Alliance,

Several years ago, Religion faculty member, Dr. Michelle Tooley, took this cause to the administration. Currently, the lowest wage offered at Belmont is $10.03. If Belmont can do this with an endowement of less than 50 Million, then Vanderbilt can do with with more than $2 BILLION. The issue really isn't about money, but priorities and how to treat people fairly.

May you be successful.

Debbie

Dear Vanderbilt Community Alliance,

You may have already thought of this, but I am a Vanderbilt graduate (M.S., 1976), and I would be more than willing to withhold the annual contribution I give to the Vanderbilt as an "encouragement" for the university to pay all employees a living wage. Maybe other alums would also like this idea.

Just a thought. My husband and I are really proud of all you are doing - GREAT newspaper ads!

Sincerely,

Maggie

To send us your own message, email us at contact@vandycommunity.org

Our Coalition is Growing

Vanderbilt Community Alliance Coalition Members:

American Baptist College
Belmont United Methodist Church
Jefferson Street Missionary Baptist Church
Laborers' International Union of North America, Local 386
Living Income for Vanderbilt Employees (LIVE)
Mid-South Interfaith Network
Nashville Jobs with Justice
Nashville Peace and Justice Center
Progressive Baptist Church
Service Employee International Union, Local 205
Southeast Laborers' District Council
Tennessee AFL-CIO

IT IS ABOUT DIGNITY

Vanderbilt employees are valuable.

Groundskeepers, custodians, heating, air and refrigeration technicians, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, dining service workers, and painters are among the thousands of Vanderbilt employees that keep the university and medical center running. Their work is essential to the day-to-day functioning of the school. Yet, not all of these employees are awarded the level of dignity that they deserve for their labor. In fact, some are not paid enough to meet their basic, living needs - essentials such as food, rent, childcare, healthcare and taxes.

The Laborers' International Union of North America, Local Union 386, along with Vanderbilt Community Alliance and the student group, Living Income for Vanderbilt Employees (LIVE), asks Vanderbilt University Administration to agree to pay all full-time employees a minimum of a living wage (the amount of money a full-time worker must earn to pay for basic needs without government assistance).

IT IS ABOUT RESPECT

Vanderbilt employees deserve an opportunity to make a living wage.

According to estimates by Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW), the amount of money needed to pay for housing, childcare, food, transportation, healthcare and taxes in Nashville, Tennessee, is $10.18 per hour, equaling a cumulative yearly income of $21,000. Click here to read the white paper on the Nashville Living Wage

The current minimum pay for Vanderbilt employees is $7.55 per hour. While Vanderbilt has negotiated a "range of pay" (establishing a minimum and maximum hourly rate), it has consistently held the lowest paid wage earners at the bottom of their range. This means that most of these employees only receive wage increases when the range minimum is increased. It is time to treat all employees with the respect they deserve by allowing them to pay for basic needs for themselves and their families.

IT IS ABOUT FAIRNESS

Vanderbilt can afford to pay their employees a living wage.

Vanderbilt University, the second largest employer in Tennessee with a $2.2 billion annual budget, claims that due to budget and economic restraints, it can not afford to compensate its employees with a living wage.

Meanwhile, Vanderbilt chancellor, Gordon Gee, is the third highest paid university chief in the United States, earning a $1.4 million salary. Tuition exceeds $40,000 per year for full-time undergraduate students and the university exceeded its $1.5 billion fundraising goal two years early, thus amending its goal to $1.75 billion.

So why can't Vanderbilt afford to pay hourly employees enough to meet the bare minimum of their needs? Is this how the university defines fairness? Vanderbilt Community Alliance believes that change is long overdue, and urges the Administration to share the university's wealth with the employees that keep it running.