Students at the Botanic Gardens provide critical upkeep, maintenance, and labor which keeps the Gardens beautiful and functioning. Unfortunately, students are not paid a living wage, which makes it nearly impossible to make ends meet. The solution to this deep issue is to raise wages to a fair $17/hr for all current and future workers at the Gardens. 

As key members of the Botanic Gardens, student-workers have an inherent love of the gardens. But to keep the gardens beautiful, ensuring workers are paid fairly is a key investment for the future that must be made today!  The job demands working outside in the frigid winter air and the blistering summer heat, consistently handling dangerous equipment, and constantly exerting our blood and muscles to keep the gardens operating. 

While student-workers are paid the bare minimum for our labor, students have consistently been injured on the job. As students have faced illegal worker intimidation, federal workplace violations, and a growing hostile work environment, it is critical that we all stand in solidarity with workers only asking for fair compensation. 

There is power in numbers, and with your name, we can ensure students can put food on the table, send money back home, and live. Please sign this petition to tell the Botanic Gardens and UCR to pay their workers a living wage and treat them with humanity!