On the Need to Remove Restrictions from
Stanford’s “Living Wage Policy for Sub-Contracted Workers” 

Associated Students of Stanford University Advocacy Bill 

Passed by Unanimous Vote of the ASSU on February 20, 2007

Authors: Lisa Llanos, Anthony Bestafka Cruz, Mondaire Jones 

Co-Sponsors: Nabill Idrisi, Valerie Villarreal, Tamandra Morgan, Hershey Avula, Melissa Morales 

Submitted: February 13, 2007 to the ASSU

Action Requested: Approval 

WHEREAS students at Stanford have a moral interest in ensuring that the operations of their University, or the operations with which it is closely affiliated, pass basic standards of human decency, and 

WHEREAS the University Code of Conduct demands that all individuals who “contract with” or “assert an association with” the University “are responsible for sustaining the highest ethical standards of this institution, and of the broader community in which we function.” 

WHEREAS President John Hennessy has stated, “We recognize paying a living wage to all the people who work on campus is a reasonable and justifiable thing to do,” and 

WHEREAS Stanford University currently has a “Living Wage Policy for Subcontracted Workers,” implemented by President John Hennessy, and 

WHEREAS the seven restrictions placed on the current “Living Wage Policy for Subcontracted Workers” has the effect of excluding many low wage workers that would benefit from such a policy, and 

WHEREAS the Presidential Advisory Committee on Workplace Policies, after reviewing the “Living Wage Policy for Subcontracted Workers” and its restrictions, concluded that “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,” and 

WHEREAS the University Code of Conduct recognizes that “[members of the Stanford University Community] must earn and maintain a reputation for integrity” and that “even the appearance of…impropriety can be very damaging to the University,” 

WHEREAS Students of Stanford University expect and demand transparency and truthfulness in the policies implemented by the University, 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Associated Students of Stanford University strongly urges 

THAT Stanford University remove six of the seven restrictions on its “Living Wage Policy for Subcontracted Workers,” maintaining only the (fourth) qualification that the employer of affected workers have an agreement with Stanford University. Listed here are the restrictions as they currently appear:

1. The services are those performed on the core campus (excluding the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center) that Stanford might otherwise perform with directly hired paid employees, such as basic service jobs.

2. The contracts are for a term, in the aggregate, of at least a year.

3. The work is being done for Stanford University directly, not for tenants or other entities doing business on Stanford owned land, including Stanford Hospital and Clinics and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford.

4. The workers are employees of contractors with agreements with Stanford University.

5. Such workers are employed at least 30 hours per week, for a period of six months or whatever period the contractor designates for its employees to be considered “regular employees”

6. Such workers are not represented under any existing collective bargaining relationship.

7. The aggregate value of the contract(s) exceeds $100,000 per year.  
 

THAT any details regarding the implementation of the broadened policy be decided and executed in a transparent and democratic process involving workers and students. 

THAT Stanford University remain proactive in ensuring that all its employment policies and practices are commensurate with the “highest ethical standards of this institution, and of the broader community in which we function.”