Here in Cullowhee, NC, the Undergraduate Alliance for Student Worker Success (UASWS) was formed in August 2022 due to worsening conditions of undergraduate student employment. Our student-led organization is recognized by the Student Government Association. Recently, we've been grateful to receive lots of community support and the opportunity to fight for better workplace conditions using our org's resources.

For our first big project, we are petitioning Western Carolina University to raise the minimum wage for part-time student workers to at least $12/hr. In 2018, a surprising decision was made to raise the minimum wage for full-time state employees to $15 in order to curb a labor shortage caused by poverty wages. A state budget including this change was published in 2021.

This is important because student workers, excluding those who work with Dining Services/Aramark, are considered state employees as they are employed by a public university. Because student worker wages are some of the lowest in the area, about $8 - $10 in contrast to $10 - $15 in Sylva, and haven't changed in years, we demand that student workers be similarly compensated and acknowledged just like their full-time counterparts. 

We do not think it's a tall order. Administrative staff members at the university have expressed that we certainly have the funds available to raise wages, but they are intentionally kept low in relation to an undergraduate worker's "lack of experience" and the student employment program being treated as an "educational experience." The starting wage for part-time workers in Dining Services is already $12.

The duties performed by student workers on a daily basis are crucial to the university's operation. They are responsible for running campus events, facilitating mail distribution, answering guest and student concerns alike, and so much more. An exhaustive list of all the roles that student workers perform would be miles long.

We simply ask that our wages reflect that we are essential and deeply valued by the university. Please sign and share this petition to show your solidarity with WCU's young student workers, especially in an area of the country that's been historically under-protected from employer exploitation and union busting.

"I'm a first-gen student with no support from my family. 0 EFC. Nothing. With the help of financial aid and whatever wages I make, I barely scrape by. My classes are secondary at this point. It isn't fair that I have to break myself down for a company that won't even pay me the average wage of a worker like myself; all while the higher-ups who assure that they're giving us the most they can put more and more money into their bank accounts than ever before." - Anonymous WCU student worker & member of UASWS.

When you sign, we ask that you please write your own reason for supporting our cause. Those statements can go a long way in the petition process.

To learn more about us: https://linktr.ee/uasws​

https://www.instagram.com/uasws.wcu/

(For WCU students) https://wcu.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/uasws

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See our sources* below:

The Southern Scoop News
AP News(1)​         (2)​

NFIB​

The Western Carolinian & Smoky Mountain News

* Some information is sourced from anonymous student workers, lived experiences, interviews, and the primary author of this petition.