Berkeley's Betrayal - Public Sociology @ Berkeley - University of ...

Three troubling themes emerged from these interviews. First, wages have not kept up withthe rising costs of living; many workers cannot afford the basic necessities of life—reasonablehousing, childcare, and transportation. Second, the conditions of work are unacceptably dangerous.Once injured, workers are treated as if they are disposable and do not receive the physicaland emotional care they deserve. Finally, many workers, as the comments above suggest, reportroutinely being treated with disrespect by their supervisors. The lack of standardized proceduresleaves workers subject to the luck of the draw: some supervisors are fair; others make unreasonabledemands and take advantage of their power.Organized around these three main themes of wages, health and safety, and dignity andrespect, this report tells a story about the university that is seldom told, presented through thevoices of those who are seldom heard. With the publication and dissemination of this report, wehope to accomplish three concrete objectives:EDUCATION: to educate students, faculty, parents and alumni about the wages andworking conditions of the U.C. Berkeley workforce.MOBILIZATION: in coalition with campus unions and other student groups, to mobilizethe collective energies of the campus community to send an unequivocal message touniversity administrators that it is unacceptable for members of our community to workfor less than a living wage, to be endangered by their work, or to be accorded less thanthe dignity and respect any other member of the university community would expectand deserve.CHANGE: to call on the university administration to take ten steps—outlined in theconclusion of this report—that will improve the wages and working conditions of universityemployees.6