​​Living Wage Task Force ​
Back​ground
In the spring semester of 2013, Chancellor Patterson appointed seven members of the UW-Stevens Point faculty and staff to serve on the Living Wage Task Force.  The chancellor charged the task force to prepare a report that included the following:

·         an environmental scan of the classified staff wages at UW-Stevens Point, across the UW System, and at comparable public and private institutions in our region;

·         a recommendation of what the minimum wage at UW-Stevens Point should be, considering U.S. poverty thresholds and other economic indicators;

·         an analysis of the number of employees who currently earn less than the recommended minimum wage and the budget implications for bringing this group to the recommended wage;

·         a proposed timeline for implementation of this proposal. 

​​The complete letter from the chancellor to the Living Wage Task Force is available here.  

Report​​

On August 9, 2013 the task force submitted their report to Chancellor Patterson.  The full report is available here​.  
 

Exec​utive Summary

The Task Force arrived at the following conclusions and recommendations:

Living Wage Definition and UWSP Wages

  • The estimated Living Wage necessary for UWSP employees ranges from $9.36 to $10.95 depending on the assumptions used in the calculations.
  • While likely not enough to independently support a family, even the lowest starting wage of $11.397 set by the Office of State Employee Relations (OSER) is above both the UWSP living wage estimates suggesting that UWSP does pay a living wage for Central Wisconsin.

Comparable External Market Wages and UWSP Wages

  • The starting wages paid at UWSP are generally well below market comparison wages for jobs requiring the given skills and duties. Starting market wages are 41.3% higher on average in the public sector and 38.6% higher on average combining both the public and private sector.

Cost Estimates and Recommendations for Procedure

Steps to Raise Wages for Existing Low Wage Classified Staff:

  • Raise wages of Blue-collar, Security, and Technical workers in pay ranges 8 and 9, and Administrative staff in pay range 8, making less than $13.054 up to two within range pay steps as defined by OSER, with a maximum wage of $13.054. Workers would need to be in good standing to receive the adjustment.
  • Raise wages of Blue-collar, Security, and Technical workers in pay range 10, and Administrative staff in pay range 9 making less than $14.038 up to one within range pay step as defined by OSER, with a maximum wage of $14.038. Workers would need to be in good standing to receive the adjustment.
  • The proposal would affect 60 employees and cost $77,996 per year. The money would be allocated using the DMC process and ideally would be “new” money for the departments.
  • Evaluate and monitor the effects of the pay plan on the unit’s compensation dynamics, and use the existing DMC process to alleviate any issues that arise.

Steps to Help Seasonal and Administrative Classified Staff:

  • Explore the possibility of finding extra work to bring those employees who are interested up to a full year, full-time schedule.

Steps to Help Recruit New Classified Staff:

  • Raise wages of employees in pay range 8, and Technical, Blue-collar, and Security staff in pay range 9, one within range pay step upon successfully completing their probationary period.

Steps to Help All Classified Staff:

  • Conduct a general job classification and compensation study to examine the relationship between current wages at UWSP and external market comparisons for all pay ranges.
  • Continue to push for greater flexibility in the wage setting process within UWSP.

 


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