Students demand increased campus pay

The United Campus Workers of Arizona (UCWAZ) have created a petition demanding that the University of Arizona pay campus workers $25 an hour by 2025.

The petition has presently garnered over 500 signatures.

“UCWAZ believes that all campus workers in Arizona, whether university employees or contracted laborers, must be paid a thriving wage, not a poverty wage,” the petition reads.

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It continues, “The university works because we do.”

The petition urges readers to support increased campus pay because of “significant increases in housing costs, gas, and food expenses.”

The author of the petition points out that inflation is currently ten percent in Arizona, despite unchanged wages. It further argues that the increased wage floor will benefit at least 4,000 workers and provide economic stimulus to Arizona.

UCWAZ has built “wall-to-wall support, centering the voices of all work employees, particularly those who are in more vulnerable positions.”

Pam Scott, Associate Vice President of External Communications at The University of Arizona, told Campus Reform the school “value[s] the hard work of our campus colleagues and recognize there is increased competition for their talents and that is why we chose to align with what Tucson voters approved in the Minimum Wage Act in November 2021.”

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Scott noted that UA “continues to work with all units to make wage adjustments within their budgets.”

“The current minimum wage for Tucson is $13/hour and we have increased student workers’ minimum wage to $13/hour and staff to $13.50,” she said. “We are currently ahead of the commitment by the City of Tucson for increasing minimum wage and we plan to move to $15/hour minimum in advance of January 1, 2025.”

Campus Reform contacted UCWAZ for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.