In March of 2013, the New York State legislature approved a raise in the state minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.00 per hour. The New York State minimum wage legislation went into effect on December 31, 2013 and dictates two more minimum wage increases, to $8.75 per hour on December 31, 2014 and to $9.00 per hour on December 31, 2015. Although nonprofitmaking institutions may elect to abide by the New York State minimum wage standards, Skidmore College is a 501(c)(3) nonprofitmaking institution and has elected exemption from coverage under the minimum wage order. Skidmore has continued to structure its work study wage scale on the outdated minimum wage.

Skidmore College work study students are therefore exempt from the state minimum wage order and may be paid less than the new state minimum wage. Skidmore College's choice to retain the old minimum wage as the standard for its wage scale subverts the state's "fundamental labor standard designed to protect workers"[1] and reinforces the payment of students at  what the Hunger Action Network calls a "sub-poverty wage"[2].

Skidmore's diverse socioeconomic environment includes many students who require federal work study as part of their financial aid packages and whose on-campus employment is their primary source of income. Approximately 50% of all Skidmore students are currently earning federal and college work study dollars, and 25% of them make less than the new state minimum wage.

For many students, work study earnings are their only sources of income during the academic year. Some students go days without eating substantial meals while they wait for their biweekly work study paychecks to arrive, while others are forced to explain their financial hardships to professors each time they are expected to participate in out-of-the-classroom experiences that they cannot afford.

Choosing not to pay work study students in accordance with the new state minimum wage is a deplorable mechanism of discrimination against students of lower socioeconomic status and students who do not receive familial financial support. As a college that strives to project the appearance of progessive social concern and inclusivity for students of all socioeconomic backgrounds, choosing to pay the students who need financial aid most at a sub-poverty wage is shameful.

The college states that its mission is to "cultivate students' intellectual and personal excellence." No student, however, can focus on acheving intellectual or personal excellence without some degree of financial security.

No student should be precluded from a rewarding college experience because they cannot afford to meet their basic needs.

Ask Skidmore's President's Cabinet and Board of Trustees to adjust the work study wage scale based on the new state minimum wage.

[1]​ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/opinion/sunday/the-case-for-a-higher-minimum-wage.html​

[2]​ http://nypost.com/2013/12/27/ny-increasing-minimum-wage-to-8-an-hour-in-2014/