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Campus Minimum wage to receive 40-cent raise beginning Jan. 4
Student workers returning from winter break will receive some help to cover excessive spending over the holiday season when a 40-cent increase in minimum wage for student employees takes affect Jan. 4.
Student Employment minimum wage will increase from $5.65 to $6.05. The increase will be included in paychecks issued after Jan. 30. The maximum student wage will also increase to $7.80.
Chancellor Walter Wendler said the increase is a way to stair-step the 85-cent increase required by Illinois law by January 2005. Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed a minimum wage increase into law Aug. 21. that will raise state minimum wage to $5.50 by 2004 and to $6.50 by 2005. State minimum wage will increase by a total of $1.35.
Wendler had already instituted a 50-cent increase from the state and federal minimum wage of $5.15 in August 2002 using funds from increased tuition. Financial Aid Director Daniel Mann said federal, state and campus minimum wage have historically been the same, and 2002 was the first time the campus increased to higher than the state and federal levels.
While the University already meets the $5.50 wage requirement, Wendler said breaking the increase into two parts will be easier than doing it all at once.
"This is a more prudent way to do it and because we value our student workers," Wendler said. "It nearly cuts the distance that we're looking for in half."
He said the remaining 45-cent increase may be put into effect as early as the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
The increase is projected to cost the University about $207,000, which Wendler said will come from other areas of the budget and will mean cut-backs from other areas of campus.
"It is difficult to do in these budget times, especially when most full-time employees are not getting increases," Wendler said, adding that the University has been working toward a solution to the required increase since the legislation passed. "We have been trying to work through it and determine whether or not we can do it this year, but we think it's the right thing to do."
Bill McMinn, director of Intramural-Recreational Sports, one of the largest student-employers on campus, said he received a memorandum from the Financial Aid offices Nov. 24 notifying him of the increase.
"Because of the budget challenges we have, I certainly do [agree with the increase]," McMinn said. "Students are so valuable. They play vital roles in our operation and all aspects of it."
The money from the budget will only go to fund wages for student employees hired on a state account, Mann said. State accounts include most academic departments on campus.
If it's a non-state account, the departments will be responsible for coming up with the money. Departments with non-state accounts include the Student Center, the Recreation Center and other fee-based areas around campus, which could result in higher student fees later on.
"Fees won't be increased for this year," Mann said. "But I'm sure that the increase in state minimum wage is being considered in developing their fee proposals for future years."
According to the Illinois Board of Higher Education, SIUC student employees account for about 2.8 percent of all staff earnings, about 1.6 percentage points higher than the state average.
Wendler said he does not intend the increased payrolls to affect the number of students employed by the University, but future budget challenges could result in cutting back positions.
Mann said the money provided to the campus areas should help them to cover the increases.
"Because there's going to be an increase for state accounts, there's some money provided," Mann said. "They should be able to maintain the same amount of students for the same amount of hours."
He said non-state accounts will need to find additional funds or reduce the number of student employment hours available to make up the difference.
McMinn said though his office is a non-state fund, the number of student workers, which ranges from 475 to 520, will not be affected by the increase. The department includes several areas around campus such as the Recreation Center and the boat docks.
Wendler said despite possible reductions, students provide an essential contribution to the University, and the wage raise should not prevent them from finding University employment, the only way many are able to attend college.
"Not everybody can have a scholarship, but there's a lot of places people can work on this campus," Wendler said. "If a student wants to work, we can put them to work.
"It would be rare for us to have a student who wanted student employment that we could not put to work; there's a lot of work that needs to be done around here."
