Proposal Explanations and Justifications

1.      Implement a living wage of at least $12.30 an hour for all non-faculty employees, including temporary workers and miscellaneous workers.

There is a level below which it is unfair to pay workers, even if the market will allow it.  Brown workers trying to support families and many cannot do so on the wages Brown pays, particularly temporary workers and food service workers.  The cost of living in Rhode Island is expensive, estimates of a living wage in the city are as high as $19.30.  The wage of $12.30 is what is required for a family of 4 to afford a 2-bedroom apartment in Providence according to government standards of affordability and it is the wage being proposed to the Providence City Council for the city-employee living wage.  

2.     Equal pay for equal work.  Pay temporary workers wages equal to those paid to permanent employees who perform the same job function.  

Equal pay for equal work! Temps are doing the same jobs as permanent employees and should receive the same compensation.  There are instances where an experienced clerical worker, for example, will be far more productive than a temporary replacement but these temps should be paid at least the starting rate for a permanent employee of their job type.

3.      Provide health care coverage to all Brown employees including temporary workers and miscellaneous workers, pro-rated as appropriate.  

All Brown workers should get health care coverage while they work at Brown. If workers are at Brown for a very short period of time, they should be provided a cash equivalent to the health care cost, as employees who are covered by their spouses do.  Temporary workers need health care just as much as permanent employees and, when Brown is employing temp workers, it has the same responsibility to them.

4.   Adopt a Temporary Worker Code of Conduct, which applies to temporary and miscellaneous workers and provides the following:

  a.      That temporary workers are granted access to Brown child care services, Brown Learning Community courses, Career Services, athletic facilities, and University libraries.  

Temporary workers should, as much as is practicable, be given access to the same services that permanent Brown employees enjoy.  This is particularly important for services such as child care, the lack of which may discriminate against mothers who do not have access to child care, Brown Learning Community classes and other educational programs, and Career Services, which many temporary workers could benefit from to find permanent employment at Brown or elsewhere.   

   b.  That temporary workers are provided a written description before each new assignment detailing the hours, days, holiday schedule and anticipated duration of the assignment, tasks to be performed and any training required, the name of the supervisor and the place to report in cases where a temp agencies is used, the rate Brown is paying the agency for the assignment and the rate the agency is paying the temporary worker for the assignment.  

It is important that temporary workers receive detailed descriptions of their assignments so that they better understand the employment relationship with the University and can plan future employment when the temporary assignment ends.  Workers who are laid off without warning are left without income until they can find other (usually temporary) employment.  Further, many workers misunderstand the possibilities, or lack of possibilities for finding permanent employment at Brown after working in a temporary position.

5.  Track the number of temporary-employee hours worked in each University sector and hire permanent employees when temporary hours worked consistently exceed a permanent equivalent.

Hours worked by temps need to be tracked so that temp jobs can be replaced by permanent positions when ‘temporary’ positions are being used on such a consistent basis that a permanent employee could be hired.  E.g., in facilities management, there will always be at least 2 employees absent for health or other reasons, so their should be 2 full-time ‘floaters’ who fill in.  This will reduce dependence on temps and will improve the quality and efficiency of the worker being done-- they will be familiar with Brown, will require less training by permanent employees, and can be more carefully screened when they are initially hired.  This is particularly true for temporary clerical workers who will be much more useful if they are familiar with Brown and especially if they have filled in for a particular secretary before.