Announcements

April 20
Fast is over!
Meeting with Hennessy resulted in significant policy change!

April 17
Solidarity Fast
Show Your Support and Join the Fasters for One Day

April 15
CommUNITY Day
Barbeque & Rally
-Join Us in Celebrating Workers' Contributions to our CommUNITY!
-Video Announcement for Community Day

February 20
ASSU Endorses
an Expanded
Living Wage Policy
Read the Resolution
Stanford Daily Article

Fast Timeline & Updates:

Friday, 4/20 – FAST IS OVER! – Writing with congratulations to all of y'all who made this possible!  This was our movement, is our movement.  The fasters, negotiators and organizers couldn't have done it without all of you.  Your words of support, signatures on the petition, efforts to mobilize people and contact press have just helped us get one step closer to making the University a place we're all proud of.  We were so inspired by your presence and participation at events like yesterday's rally outside Hennessy's speech -- so much energy coming from every person in the crowd.

So the specifics:
The University agreed to lift all restrictions on the living wage policy except two:
1. Doesn't apply to unionized workers.
2. Doesn't apply to contracts where the aggregate value of all contracts with that agency is less than $100,000 (formerly this restriction excluded all individual -- not aggregate -- contracts under $100,000 -- this change should mean that the hundreds of manpower workers on campus hired in decentralized contracts will start getting a living wage no later than Sept. 1).

BUT

They're also going to create a "preferred contractors" list that will include all contractors who agree to pay their workers a living wage, even when the living wage policy doesn't require it absolutely (so this should make it a lot easier for ABM janitors to get a living wage in their next contract negotiation next year, because ABM will have a strong incentive to pay a living wage).  Departments will be encouraged to hire from this list, and if they hire a contractor that's not on the list, they have to submit a public report explaining why, and we stipulate that lower cost isn't a good enough reason.

The living wage still doesn't apply to tenants or to the hospital, but it does now apply to the Linear Accelerator Center.

Specific expansions:
Applies without regard to hours worked, duration of contract, or duration of employment.

There's more to be done!!!
1. Guarantees for full neutrality in union organizing campaigns.
2. Guarantees for wage parity for all workers (though we made some progress on this -- ask about it).
3. Independent Oversight (though we did get some good transparency agreements).

And more!

Sunday, 4/15 – Community Day – This has been an exciting day for those of us rallied around making Stanford into the model employer it claims to be and needs to be.  The big news is that the number of fasters has more than doubled!  We started the fast with four, all members of SLAC.  Another student, Ali Batouli, joined Thursday evening.  Chris McGilvery, a directly-hired grounds worker stopped eating on Friday at Noon; Liz Brody joined up on Saturday, and today four more began fasting at CommUNITY Day: Maribel Garcia and Ernesto Garcia, janitors subcontracted through ABM, and two alumni: Sofia Lee and Max Garcia. 

Also, today we held a BBQ, rally and march at Stanford's Community Day.  We called ours "CommUNITY Day: United for a Real Living Wage" and it drew a couple hundred workers, students, alumni, and faculty.  A rally featured speeches by new and ongoing fasters, and by the president of SEIU Local 1877.

The flyer we attempted to hand out at the Founders Day Celebration was a copy of a temporary/casual Stanford worker's paystub showing a wage of 9.00 an hour, far below the living wage, and in direct contradiction to Hennessy's statement at a parent's Q&A in which he said no Stanford worker made below the living wage. In addition to the police physically preventing a faster from handing out the flyer, Nanci Howe told the faster flyering would be considered a disruption of the event and in violation of University policy.

On Friday, Hennessy called to say that on Monday someone from his office would call us to schedule a meeting.  Today, he told a faster (Joseles de la Cruz) directly that he couldn't meet sooner because he had "other priorities."  We think it's time for him to make this a priority.

Because of that, we decided to move our fast encampment to the main quad, right outside Hennessy's office.  Our actions today secured a meeting with President Hennessy on Monday, April 16th, at 5:00pm with a delegation of six students.

Friday, 4/13 – 12 PM – Delegation to President Hennessy
50 workers and students delivered a message to President Hennessy, along with a basket containing bread and roses to symbolize the need for a wage that will allow workers and our communities to sustain themselves and to prosper.  Hennessy’s assistant, Jeff Wachtel, said that Hennessy wouldn’t be able to meet until Monday, and asked students to provide them with information about which workers are not receiving a living wage.  This comment came as a surprise to students, given that the University collects but does not disseminate this information, and should not therefore rely (or claim to rely) on students to provide the research.

Thursday Night, 4/12 – 9 PM – Another Faster!
Ali Batouli joins the fast!  Though not involved in SLAC, he was inspired to join up by the actions and moving message of the fasters. 

Thursday Night, 4/12 – 8 PM – White Plaza Encampment
Fasters and living wage advocates occupy white plaza with a small tent city.  They will remain there throughout the fast, and all are invited to join up!  Bring a tent and sleeping bag if you have one, we’ve got extras if you don’t.

Thursday Night, 4/12 – 7 PM – Town Hall Meeting & Press Conference – Fast Announced.  The Daily runs a brief on the fast.  Mother Jones online magazine begins extensive coverage of the fast, and information goes out over the Bay Area News Serivce Press Wire.  The fast was reportedly mentioned on NPR.

Top 5 things to know about the living wage policy:

1. Hennessy implemented the policy in 2003, but the policy itself contains a list of 7 restrictions on its applicability. The result? It applies to almost none of the workers it is designed to protect! <Read more about the restrictions on the living wage policy>

2. After a 7-day hunger strike by students, Hennessy agreed to convene a Presidential Advisory Committee on Workplace Policies to investigate the living wage policy (among other issues). In their final report, the PAC reprimanded Hennessy for the restrictions on the policy, saying

“if Stanford University operates a ‘living wage’ policy, it should not attach so many conditions to its applicability that it has the effect of excusing many Contracted workers from that policy. A ‘living wage’ policy that appends a string of conditions creates inequities among similar workers and risks giving the unfortunate impression that Stanford’s employment policies do not really mean what they are proclaimed to be." <Read the full text of the PAC's report>
<Read about the History of the Living Wage Campaign>

3. The ASSU unanimously passed a resolution endorsing the removal of all restrictions on the living wage policy. A similar bill is under consideration by the Graduate Student Senate. <Read the full text of the ASSU's resolution>

4. Despite all this, President Hennessy currently refuses to act. He has not responded to our ongoing requests for meetings. Because of this we have begun a series of escalating, creative direct actions to raise awareness. <Email President Hennessy, and ask for a real living wage>

5. With your help, we will win soon a REAL living wage policy that applies to all campus workers, covers the cost of living, and can be maintainted in a democratic and transparent atmosphere!

Learn more about the living wage policy!

Use the navigation bar on the left to find out more about SLAC and the history of the campaign. Use the list of documents on the right to find out more information about hte living wage campaign. If you don't find what you're looking for, head to the "Contact Us" page and send us an email!

-Our Demands to President Hennessy

-"Restrictions on the Living Wage Policy: What They are and Why They Should be Removed"

-History of the Living Wage Policy

-Presidential Advisory Committee's Recommendations, Hennessy's Response, and HR's Update (PDF)

-SLAC's Response to HR Update

-Full Text of PAC's Final Report (PDF)

-“No More Waiting”: SLAC Op-Ed on Release of HR Recommendations