USC United Campus workers calling for wage increase

According to organizers, around 700 workers have signed a petition for better pay.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) – Today a group called USC United Campus Workers gathered on campus calling for a wage increase. According to organizers, around 700 workers have signed a petition for better pay.

The USC United Campus Workers is  demanding  minimum wage be increased to $20 an hour for hourly workers and $40,000 a year for salary workers.  Bobbi Keitt has worked at the university for 31 years and she is one of the long-standing leaders who has consistently pushed for change.

“I tried for many years to make things better on my own but I couldn’t do it but when the union came along I joined the union and it is so much better and things got to change even more,” said Keitt.  

During the speeches a seat reserved for USC President Michael Amiridis but it was left vacant. ABC Columbia reached out to USC for comment. USC released the following statement:

The University of South Carolina values all employees and has engaged in a concerted, sustained effort to attract and retain staff through broad-based salary adjustments for our lowest paid workers. These efforts are ongoing, and we welcome the continued input from organizations across our campus, including our Staff Senate.

In just the last two years alone, here are a few steps USC has taken to improve wages and other benefits for university faculty and staff:

• The University of South Carolina raised the minimum hourly rate across the entire system for approximately 600 full-time staff earning less than $14 per hour. This year, we raised the minimum hourly rate to $15 per hour effective July 2023. 

 

• The university raised the minimum hourly wage for graduate students and the annual minimum stipend for PhD students working on an assistantship of 20 hours per week. Graduate students now have a minimum hourly salary of $15 while the annual minimum stipend for PhD students is up to $20,000.  

• South Carolina began offering fully subsidized health insurance to full-time PhD students and students with graduate assistantships in 2021. 

• State employees received a 5 percent salary increase—or a $2,500 raise if higher—beginning July 1.

 

• USC’s Division of Human Resources completed a classification and compensation study in 2022 with the goal of better aligning the universities pay structure with salaries in the market and develop an exhaustive plan to stay competitive for talent. Implementation of the study’s results is about $4.3 million. 

Keitt said she acknowledges the improvement but more is needed. She told the crowd that she will continue to speak up for those who are fearful of retaliation. “Last night when I was asked to speak i ponder on it. Shall I? and I said to myself why not, why not speak for the ones who are afraid to speak for themselves and I’m also speaking for myself. I want more, I want to max out in my pay, I deserve more. I know people with in the department that came in behind me making 30 to 40 thousand dollars than I’m making so what does that tell you.