Frequently Asked Questions

1)     Aren’t Brown wages already reasonable?

A wage is unjust if it is not enough to support the basic needs of a worker and his/her family.  It is the University’s responsibility to ensure that all members of the Brown community are taken care of adequately.  By paying workers a wage that does not meet the basic needs of a family, Brown is not fulfilling that responsibility.  Brown workers make Brown work.  Brown wages should sustain Brown workers.

2)     The Providence labor market determines wages.  Wouldn’t it be fiscally unwise to differentiate from that?

Relying solely on market rates excludes the values of the institution from the decision-making process or worse, makes a value statement that the bottom line of a budget takes precedence over the well-being of a worker and member of the community.  Making a Brown janitorial or food services job more desirable in terms of wages than other janitorial or food service jobs would attract a stronger workforce.

3)     Won’t higher wages lead to higher unemployment?

The demand for labor at Brown is inelastic— a certain amount of work must be done at the University in order for it to function, regardless of the cost of labor. Therefore, implementing better labor standards on campus will not cause current Brown workers to lose their jobs.  However, there might be a reduction in the number of temporary jobs as it would become more efficient for the University to permanent workers.

4)     Would higher wages be passed on directly to students?

The University is limited in the amount it can increase tuition by the cost of tuition at its peer institutions.  Tuition is set largely independently of the university’s operating costs.

5)     The University has a finite amount of resources.  Won’t we lose other things if we adopt a living wage?

The University must live up to its core ideals and values before reaching beyond that.  There will always be priority dilemmas within the University.  It is necessary to recognize that certain things, such as a living wage and health care, are moral imperatives and must therefore be done prior to tackling those dilemmas.

6)     Won’t setting a living wage for a family of four would be overpaying people with smaller families or who were single and underpaying people with larger families?

While setting the definition of a living wage is inherently difficult, this difficulty should not cause us to abandon the effort.  The living wage being proposed can hardly be considered ‘overpayment’ for anyone, and it represents a minimum fair wage that allows Brown workers basic opportunities to raise a family.  Implementing a living wage policy will not solve all the problems of Brown workers, but it will offer a significant improvement in the lives of all workers.