Demands to President John Hennessy
Presented by The Coalition for Labor Justice and Stanford Labor Action Coalition 

      In 2003, seven students fasted to urge that Stanford University take immediate action and adopt a living wage policy that would benefit all of its employees. Four years later, and after the Presidential Advisory Committee on Workplace Policies and Human Resources made concrete recommendations to President Hennessy, Stanford has failed to carry out its promise that all of its workers will benefit from a real living wage policy. Hennessy’s announcement last Fall that Stanford is a just employer, which pays its workers an adequate and fair wage was a public relations tactic that conceals the fact that his so-called living wage policy does not actually apply to any low-wage workers on the Stanford campus. In reality, this “living wage policy” entails a host of restrictions that prohibit most low-wage, directly and indirectly hired employees from earning wages that are compatible with the cost of living in the Bay Area. With a $14 billion endowment, Stanford University is capable of and absolutely responsible for investing in a true living wage policy that will indeed provide its employees adequate wages and the right to organize. 

      Last year, President Hennessy announced The Stanford Challenge, an eager plan to raise over $4.3 billion to fund various initiatives that will seek solutions to global problems. Yet, a plan to improve workplace policies at Stanford does not seem to concern Hennessy’s far-sighted idea of justice and accountability. Thus, as concerned students and members of the Stanford community, we Challenge Stanford and demand the following:    

1. That the living wage be expanded to apply to all campus workers regardless of the dollar value of employee contract; duration of employment; amount of hours worked per week; union membership status; and worksite location. The living wage should apply equally to workers regardless of whether they are employed directly by Stanford, by a contractor, or by any other entity affiliated to Stanford.
2. That changes to the living wage policy be made in the context of a more comprehensive labor policy reform that includes guarantees for complete wage parity and a commitment to absolute neutrality in union organizing efforts, including the institution of a card-check neutrality system.
3. That any changes made be accompanied by proactive mechanisms of ongoing adjustment and accountability, so that wages and other labor policies can remain responsive to the needs of workers and transparent to the entire community.
4. That any policy changes that are made be accompanied with proportional budget and resource allocations to departments that will be responsible for hiring workers with the new labor standards, or to administrative departments charged with implementing and overseeing these policies.  Thus, no department should hire fewer workers in order to implement the higher wages and no administrative department should fail to conduct a comprehensive review or implement changes in a speedy matter for lack of resources.
5. That all changes made to labor policy, any details and processes for their implementation, and any accompanying analysis be conducted in transparent and democratic fashion where workers, students and Stanford community will have access to information and will be empowered to make binding contributions to policy decisions.