6th Period Economics Students:
First and foremost, my apologies for the video difficulties today in class. The Loyola server was being a little ridiculous.
Over the past week, we've been looking at wages, earnings and discrimination. One of the topics discussed in class was the living wage, or the thought that a person's earnings should cover the basic necessities of life. That topic is a source of debate in many areas of the country, and one such example is on college campuses. I would like you to go to this site and click on the video link entitled "A Living Wage" on the right hand side of the page. You need to watch the first 10-12 minutes of the video (I could not get an exact time, but when you see actor/labor activist Danny Glover, you should stop watching...just like in any of his Hollywood movies, ha!)
After viewing this video, I would like you to answer the following three questions by commenting. A sufficient answer does not have a set length, but it should include relevant economics terms from the video or class.
1. Why is the wage of the maintenance worker at Vanderbilt at its current level (use what is said in the video and what we have seen in class)?
2. According to the university, the benefits provided by Vanderbilt are fantastic and make up for the level of their wage. Your thoughts?
3. At the end of this video, it is shown that the worker received a boost from $8.16/hr to $10/hr in pay over a two-year period. While this move is obviously good for the maintenance workers, what effect (or effects) could it possibly have on the labor market? on other college and universities? on the Nashville economy? You don't have to answer all of those questions, just pick one of the areas and discuss how the Vanderbilt story could have a larger impact.
The blog will close at 9ish on Monday December 8th. Questions? Email jdees@loy.org.
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37 comments:
1. The wages are at their current level because they are at the “market rate” for the type of work being done. The wages don’t take into account what it costs to live; they only accounts for the type of labor.
2. I think, like some of the workers said, it is more important to pay for food and rent than it is to have access to a gym or other university resources. The insurance benefits are good, but the employees need more cash in their pockets for daily living.
3. With an increased salary for Vanderbilt labor workers, the “market rate” for laborers across the country will gradually rise because other labor workers will have certain expectations after the precedent set by Vanderbilt. Funding for other parts of the university may decrease as a result.
1. The living wage of the maintenance worker at Vanderbilt is at its current level because Vanderbilt does not want to pay anymore money than they have to. The average wage for that type of worker across the country is what they pay them.
2. The benefits provided by Vanderbilt are fantastic, but they do not make up for the low wages. They mentioned Vanderbilt giving up to $23,000 per a child for college tuiton. However, if the worker is not making enough money from his or her job, then it is hard for them to have children. If you do not have enough money for food and shelter, then the benefits will do the worker no good.
3. This could hurt the labor market. The university has to pay more for workers so they will have to hire less. This will cause a surplus of workers. It will also make other colleges and univerities raise workers wages. It will hurt the Nashville economy because there will be less jobs available because universities have to pay workers more money.
1.)In the video the spokesperson for Vanderbilt says that the wage is at its current place because it is equal to the market place for those kind of jobs. In class we discussed the wage differential from someone who attend college or someone who only has a high school diploma, and I'm sure that some of the maintenance workers did not attend a college. This would affect the pay as well.
2.)I think the benefits defiantly are a plus, but like the one worker said benefits cant put food on the table or pay the rent. Some of the benefits wouldn't even apply to all the workers. If you don't have any children, then the university paying up to 23 thousand dollars for college tuition wouldn't apply to you. Workers deserve to earn living wage to receive basic needs, and not just a bunch of benefits.
3.)This could affect other universities because if would force them to raise there wages for the workers as well. It would put pressure on those schools to match what Vanderbilt is paying. This story could cause a change in the country and open the eyes to many about living wage. A school-wide debate over this issue could turn into a nation-wide debate, and could benefit the workers greatly.
1. The wage is where it is for custodians at Vanderbilt because it is equal to the market wage for workers with similar jobs in Nashville.
2. The benefits are great, but they don’t make up for the fact that the wages are too low. Many of the workers would probably trade these benefits for worse ones if they got paid more. This is because they can’t use some of the benefits or the benefits aren’t worth the low wages they are paid. For example, Vanderbilt offered to pay for some of the workers’ children’s college tuition. However, I’m betting that a lot of the workers don’t have children because they can’t afford them. The couple in the video said they were barely making it, and it was just the 2 of them. The workers were also allowed to use Vanderbilt’s gyms, but because they are paid such low wages, some of the workers are forced to take on second jobs, like the second woman they interviewed, and don’t have time to do anything but work.
3. The pay raise for the Vanderbilt workers could affect other colleges and universities because if these other places also pay their workers low wages, then the workers could see that it is possible to get their employers to pay them more. This is definitely good for the workers, but it may or may not be good for the colleges and universities. It will be great for big universities like Vanderbilt, who spend too much money on the wrong things, like paying those in the highest positions extreme amounts of money. However, for smaller universities and colleges, who don’t receive as much money from tuition, alumni, and other things, it might not be good, because they may not have all that much extra money to spend on these workers’ salaries, so they may have to fire some of them, or take money from other areas of their budget.
1. The wages of the maintenance workers at Vanderbilt University are at their current level because the Vice Chancelor says that that they reflect the Nashville market place for those types of jobs.
2. I agree that the benefits provided by Vanderbilt are great. Although it's nice that they provide things like up to $23,000 for the college education of the kids workers, I agree with what one of the maintenance workers said, "those benefits don't put food on the table."
3. While the boost from $8.16/hr to $10/hr might have pleased the maintenance workers, it probably had a significant effect on other colleges and universities. Other colleges and universities were and probably still are feeling the heat from some of their employees to increase their wages. Because employees saw that Vanderbilt employees can increase their wages if they press the university, other workers are going to feel the same way and do the same thing.
1. I think that the wages are at the level they are at because, in Nashville, that is the market wage for that type of work. The University is only looking at the wages in that pool of work, instead of paying the calculated living wage for the workers.
2. I don't think that those benefits are that great. I mean yeah if one of the workers gets in an accident, then their bills will be paid for, and the 23,000 towards any school is good, but if the workers don't have the money to pay for household needs, they will never use the money for colleges because they will never have a child.
3. Since Vanderbilt increased the pay, then the minimum, standard will start to rise all over the rest of the country. But, other parts of the University may suffer for that loss, but they have an 8 million dollar endowment, so I think they'll be ok.
1. Wages are what they are because that is the market wage for that type of job. Workers with similar jobs in Nashville recieve similar pay.
2. While benefits can certainly be beneficial, they just don't hold the same weight that cash does. Some of these workers barely have enough money to get by. In such cases, knowing that you can get a college tuition discount in unimportant. What's important is being able to feed and house yourself and your family and only cash can help with that.
3. Increasing the salary of a the Vanderbilt workers could disrupt the market. Workers of other areas will want the same increase in salary. Pressure will be put on other schools by their workers to match the new living wage.
1. The wage of the maintenance worker at Vanderbilt is at its current level because Vanderbilt doesn't want to pay any more than they have to and view the laborers as a commodity rather than people. Also it is at this current level because Vanderbilt claims they are paying the current market price for this type of job.
2. The only benefit that I think is worthwhile is the healthcare one. The others don't really help workers. For example, free use of the gym. I bet that after working 12-14 hours a day, a person isn't going to want to go and workout. Also what if the people don't have kids, then they can't take advantage of the 23,000 the university would give them to go to school.
3. This wage raise could effect other colleges and universities because it would cause laborers who were scared to speak out, to act. This would put pressure on the school to raise the wages of their laborers to match those of Vanderbilt or the laborers demands.
1. The wages at Vanderbilt for jobs such as custodians, groundskeepers, and other maintenance work are where there are because the university is not obligated to pay them any more. It is a market rate which means that for that certain job, they provide a reasonable wage within the law. Vanderbilt is not doing anything wrong or illegal, but the employees simply can't live off what they get paid.
2. Although the employees at Vanderbilt receive great benefits, it does not put food on the table and tend to their immediate needs. The workers are struggling to pay bills and survive off the $8 wage, and also the benefits don't have an instant impact. It is for more the future and the employee's family and children.
3. The increase of about $2/hour is great for the employees of Vanderbilt. This allows them more flexibility to live and survive off the new wage. The stress factor will definitely be decreased. However, this will encourage other labor unions to ask for more money. It will affect the market and an increase will gradually take place across the country at other universities.
1) The wage of the Vanderbilt maintenence worker is at its current level because that is the market rate for maintenece workers in general. The university represtntative said that the wage reflects the market place for these types of positions.
2) I think that those benefits are just put in as a way to sugar-coat the poor wages that they are giving the workers. It is much more important to just give the workers the amount of money that they need to get by.
3) It will affect the market for maintenence workers because other universities and companies will be pressured to raise the wages of their maintenence workers. There will probably be a higher supply of labor becuase more people will want to do the job due to the new wages.
1. The wages for maintenance workers at Vanderbilt University are at a low rate because it is the market price for that type of job. Even though they are a prestigious university with lots of money they pay the same wages as other employers pay their employees.
2. The university claims that health-care benefits, access to to the gyms, and tuition assistance make up for they low wages that the employees are making. I don't think these privledges make up for their low wages. Just ebcause you can work out at a gym doesn't mean you can put food on the table or pay rent.
3. With the maintenance worker getting a raise, the rate for the labor market for custodians will rise, because other custodians will now demand that price or leave their former employers. Other universities will now have to provide better wages for their employees.
1) The wages for the workers at Vandy are the market rate for the workers consistent throughout Nashville.
2) Vandy is correct when they say that their benefits are fantastic however they don't fully compensate for the lack of salary money. They do however help tremendously and help create better opportunity for the janitors’ off spring by paying for college.
3) If the salary for workers at Vandy rises, there will be side effects that could possibly cause harm. One being that with an increase in pay of all the workers, tuition will gradually rise preventing more students from attending the top notch institution. This could then cause a decrease in people with college degrees and increase the number of... janitors. If the university compensates for the increase by not hiring as many workers than not only will unemployment rise but also Vanderbilt may start becoming unclean.
1. The wages of the workers is where it is at because that is the market rate for their work. They are getting paid for the amount of work they are doing.
2. I think that the benefits the university are giving the employees are very good. They are giving them a lot of great benefits, college tuition is expensive so paying for some of it could really help.
3. The increased salary could mean that the university might have to hire less people if they have to pay them more. The market rate would also go up and other universities will have to start paying workers more too.
1. The living wage of the workers is at the current rate because that is the only wage that Vanderbilt can afford to pay out. The wages does not factor in living cost it only accounts for the certain type of labor being done.
2. I think like some of the workers said that the benefits are nice but they do not account for the fact that they are being payed low wages. The workers need to be able to put food on the table for their families before all the other factors come into their lives.
3. The increase of pay will in turn help out the workers but it is then setting the standard much higher for all other universities. The market rate will slowly rise across the country due to one university raising their wages. With raising the wages of the maintenance workers other parts of the university might suffer because they are now spending their money in other places.
1. The current wage at Vanderbilt is simply in order with the market rate for lower skilled laborers.
2. Yes, Vanderbilt does provide some very nice benefits such as health care, a gym membership, and college tuition for employees children. However, even with these costs paid living on less than nine dollars an hour is very difficult for an individual with a family.
3. The increased salary for Vanderbilt employees will hurt the market because the salary is artificially inflated. Becasue the university has to pay its employees too much it will create less jobs. This in turn will harm the economy of Nashville.
1. The current wages are supposedly derived from the market rate for those types of jobs in Nashville, where Vanderbilt is. The spokesman said that Vanderbilt will not raise the wages until their economists can agree on what a real living wage for Nashville actually is. Even though custodial work is dirty, it is easy work, this making thew wage small. It does not take exceptional skill to do custodial work, thus making the supply of labor large, driving the wages down.
2. The benefits are very nice, but they do not make up for the lack of wage. The workers seem to be more concerned about their economic situation currently rather than their economic situation in the future. Only a higher wage will help them to support their families now. They need to have enough money to put food on the table.
3. This is very good for the labor market domestically, especially at Universities and colleges. The wages for workers with similar jobs at other colleges and universities with probably increase as a result of this. The other workers in Nashville will also benefit from this move because there is no longer a universal living wage for that type of work.
1. the living wage for maintenance worker at Vanderbilt is at the level it is right now because it is equal to to the market wage of similar jobs in other places in the country like Nashvill.
2. although good benefits, they take away from the money able to be spent on necessities like water and shelter. the workers would rather get enough food than have access to a gym.
3.the increase in wages will have a good effect for some workers but a bad effect on others. because Vanderbilt is paying their workers more, they will be able to hire less. this will mean less jobs for people.
1. The wages were where they were at because that was the market price for the employees' labor.
2. I think that the University is right (big surprise, I know). But seriously. The university provides all kinds of extravagent things to these people taht you can't get at just any job. This stuff more than makes up for the low wages; if they don't think it does, they should work somewhere else with higher wages and less benefits.
3. The most obvious effect that it will have is that the University will have to cut costs somewhere to make up for the extra wages. Perhaps some employees get fired. Maybe no more gravy with the mashed potatoes in the cafeteria. Who knows? Something gets cut, though.
1. The wages at Vanderbilt are where they are right now because it is the same as the market rate that is offered anywhere for those type of jobs.
2. The benefits that Vanderbilt's workers get are very good, but that does not mean that it makes up for the low wages that they earn, and they still need enough payment to put food on their table.
3. This would ultimately have a negative affect on the job market because other places would then be forced to raise their wages as well, and this would lead to the university supplying a very limited amount of jobs which would create a surplus of workers
1. The current wages reflect the market value of those jobs. They are vew low skilled and relativly easy so they do not need to be compensated highly because of the job being dangerous.
2. I think that makes up a lot for the lower wage. Not having to pay health insurance is great and gives these workers a lot of stability that other low wage workers do not have. If they were not receiving benefits they would definatly need a raise.
3. It may start a trend across the country. The majority of university are a bit more left and the living wage campaign will pick up a lot of steam considering how wealthy some of these colleges are.
1. First of all, Vanderbilt has a 3 billion endowment but the chancellor is paid 1.2 million. This leaves a small pool of money for the great number of both students and workers. In addition, the wages paid are based on the market wages that are paid to lower-end workers in Nashville. In addition, Vanderbilt is looking at these workers as a commodity and not as actual people with families and lives.
2. Health insurance, access to the school gym, and money for tuition does not help those who need to pay off electrical bills and food costs. These benefits seem like a lot but in reality they are not the benefits that the workers actually need to survive.
3. This change may eliminate the number of workers who are hired. The labor supply will increase and more people will be unemployed. In order to be competitive, other universities will probably increase their wages as well, further increasing unemployment rates.
1. According to the video, the wage of a maintenance worker is at its current level becuase the wage is equal to the market wage for jobs such as a maintenance worker.
2. I agree that the benefits are appropriate. However, I also understand that a worker would find them unfair. The reason being, although they are great benefits, the workers also need money to succeed in every day life.
3. The increase in salary for the Vanderbilt maintenance workers would cause the market price for maintenance persons wages to increase in the Vanderbilt area.
1. The wages are at their current level because it is the government regulated wage for all custodian workers. Would it hurt to give them a little more? Probably not, especially at a university like Vanderbilt.
2. I think that even though benefits, such as up to 23000 dollars of college tuition to any university and health insurance, are good they do not help the workers survive in the community. Their wages need to be increased not just for the sake of them but for the sake of their families.
3. This could have an effect on the labor market that would entice workers to ask for more money. Colleges and universities would have to increase the pay of thei custodian workers otherwise they would have no one doing the job. People in Nashville who are making less than 10 dollars an hour would want a job at Vanderbilt.
1.The wages payed to the workers at the university weren't randomly or arbitrarily decided—they are the market wages for maintenance work in the Nashville market.
2.Vanderbilt offers the same health benefits to its maintenance workers as it does to its president, and it also offers a significant scholarship to the children of employees that can be used at any school. I don't know if these benefits make up for the relatively low wages, but they are better than any benefits a janitor could receive anywhere else.
3.This raise in wages will inadvertently raise the market price for maintenance work in the entire Nashville market. Obviously, this could harm the local economy, or possibly even raise unemployment in the maintenance market. There is only so much money a business or school can spend for maintenance, so certain cuts must be made in order to compensate.
1.The wage of the Vanderbilt maintenance workers is at its current level because this is the "market rate" for maintenance workers in the Nashville area. However, this market rate only attains to what the market allows, and does not take into consideration other rising living expenses that put the maintenance workers into a financially stressful position.
2. As explained in the video by some of the workers, the benefits do not help pay for some vital aspects of living expenses like paying for food or rent. Although the benefits are great, you cannot trade the money the university gives to their workers for their kid's college expenses for groceries. I think that the university needs to reevaluate how much the benefits are actually helping the workers to survive on a day to day basis.
3. This raise in wages for the maintenance workers at Vanderbilt will have a significant effect on the labor wages of maintenance workers in Nashville because now other workers not working at the university will want the same wage. The "market rate" which existed at $8.16 an hour will now be changed as the many maintenance workers at Vanderbilt will be receiving higher than that rate. Since the market rate for maintenance workers will be shifted because of this wage increase, more Nashville workers will demand that they receive payment equal to the new market rate. This could have a negative effect on the economy in Nashville as it drives labor costs for maintenance up.
1. The workers wages at Vanderbilt were at the standard market rate for that type of work in Nashville. However, this wage wasn't equal to the living wage of Nashville so many of the employees had to work two jobs or both parents had to work.
2. The benefits are good for the workers because it supplies them with healthcare and other benefits. However, if the wages aren't high enough for the employees to purchase the basic needs for living than the benefits aren't really worth it. First and foremost, the university should supply its employees with a wage that they can live off of.
3. The rise in wages for the university workers could raise the wage for every worker in a similar field in Nashville. This could potentially help the Nashville economy becasue many of its residents will be able to purchase more goods. However, the raise will upset the other local companies becasue it forces them to pay their employees more.
1) The wages were at the level they were because that is what the market price was for that job.
2) I think if that is what most other companies are paying the janitor then it would be fine. The janitors working for vanderbilt are being treated the exact same as everyone else in that job everywhere else in the city. However if that is below the median of what other janitors are being paid than it would not make up for it due to the fact that it does not put food on the table.
3) This could have an impact on other college or universities because every other worker for a college or university would point to vanderbilt and say "they got it so why not us?" It would also have an impact on the Nashvilles economy because now janitors all over Nashville will demand higher raises equal to that of Vanderbilt's and this will increase the cost for all companies.
1. The Vandy wage is at $8.45 because it is the the market rate, on par with the rest of Nashville (compared to similar jobs). The workers are angry because the university is only paying the minimum.
2. Vandy says that its health insurance, gym membership, and college money for children make up for the low wage. I think that these long term benefits are positive, but that a few more dollars per hour would be a better perk.
3. By raising the wage for their custodian and dining services employees, Vanderbilt sets a precendent. By breaking the ice, it could cause nearby colleges and other Nashville workers to lobby for a $8 to $10 wage raise as well.
1) The wages are at their current levels because they are paid to workers in low-skill positions. Maintenance jobs are relatively high in supply and somewhat low in demand.
2) The benefits that these workers receive are amazing. At a minimum wage job, it is a rarity to find such benefits. However great they are, the benefits do not provide adequate food and shelter, and workers are left to their own devices to find these things with just $300 a week.
3) As a result of the wage increase, the supply of maintenance jobs will be satisfied, and employers' demands for these workers will decrease. Nearby employers of maintenance workers will be forced to raise wages as well in order to keep their work forces in tact.
1. The market wage is at around 8 dollars that is why the Vanderbilt workers are being paid that wage. They do not want to pay more than they have to so the give their workers less than living wage.
2. Yes the insurance choices is great benefit but some of the other ones are not all that important. I would not but free gym use over food on an importance scale. And while a child's tuition is fantastic how could the child get there if his/her parents can't even feed them while making under living wage. plus if a worker has no kids that benefit is completely useless to them
3. Other colleges will see that Vanderbilt has raised the wage for matience workers and they to will raise their wages. slowly but surely the market wage will increase.
1. The wages are at the current level becasue the job requires no skill what so ever. Anybody can learn how to clean things up, and that creates a high quantity of workers.
2. The works could probably use a pay increase but, especially the lady who had the stroke, they would be out on their @$$es with out the health benifits.
3. Workers will probably start popping up every where becasue people are going to wanna capitolize on the wages. Also the school will be able to hire know work to replace the old workers for less because of the serplus of people who can fill thos kinds of positions.
1.The wage of the maintenance worker at Vanderbilt is at its current level because it was believed to be at the standard market rate for that type of work in Nashville. This wage is not sufficient for the custodians to live off of and from the video they displayed their hardships that were a result of their low-income jobs.
2.I think that the benefits given to Vanderbilt employees are a nice asset of working there but do not suffice for the level of their wages. I think that the workers in the video made a good point stating that it is more important to receive money for food and rent than to use the university’s resources. It is more important for workers to earn a decent living wage.
3.Possible effects on other colleges and universities could include affecting and pressuring them to raise their wages for maintenance workers. This would be good for the workers but may hurt the university’s financial situations. This could cause a dispute about how much custodians should be paid and what their true standard market rates should be.
1. The reason the wage was that low was because Vanderbilt wanted to pay as little as possible and in Nashville at the time this was the current pay for this specific type of job.
2. Although the benefits are very helpful they do not make up for the low wages they are getting that help to pay for their every day necessities.
3. This Vanderbilt story could greatly increase the pay maintence workers earn all over Nashville. It will/could most likely greatly effect the market not to mention making it visible the amount of power unions have in such types of jobs.
1)The reason that wages remain at a low rate is because the type of labor is the only thing that influences what the workers should get paid. Since these are not jobs that reqiure a great deal of education, the wages are on the low side. Even if the wage that they pay their workers is below a living wage, the college does not care.
2) The benifits are a double edged sword. While you are working for the college, it is very easy to say that these benifits dont help to put food on the table. While this may be true, in the long run when these people retire, they will see the benifit of having such options and not having to pay out of pocked to medical and the like. All the extra money that they would make while working would be more than consumed by not having the benifits after retirement.
3) First, it will hurt the workers in the long run because the college will start to hire less and less workers. This will lead to an abundance of out of work laborors in turn having a negative effect on the economy.
1. Wages for custodians and related jobs of physical labor, are at this current price because that is what the market has determined. Furthermore wages are lower than a profesor because it requires les education to do this type of work.
2. The benefits are on par with what I would want, basice human rights. i.e. education and healthcare. However it is up to the employees to decide what is good for them. perhaps they don't have children or they need something not covered by benefits like transportation.
3. Tution could go up new structures will be posponed. although on a positive note moral of workers will soar potentially yeilding a cleaner campus.
1)the wage is set at its current level because that is the market rate. Vanderbilt doesn't want to pay more than it has to.
2)The benefits are great, but they only do so much. They don't account for food or home expenses. I think the workers would give up their gym membership for a pay raise.
3) This could have drastic effects on other colleges and universities, because it would cause a nation wide raise in salaries.
1. The wages Vanderbilt janitors recieve is at market wage. their labor is unskilled and thereforeshould not recieve a high wage.
2. the tuition benefit they recieve is good for the employees who have kids but the others would rather just have the 20,000 dollars for 4 years in cash. especiall if they have no kids.
3. Vanderbilt set a precedent that they will give higher wages to those who ask. that is dangerous and now they are paying to mush for janitorial services.
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