The Emerging Lessons on the Occupy University of Virginia - Essay Example

The emerging lessons on Occupy of Virginia Essence of the strike One of the ways for pushing for better remuneration at the University of Virginia has been use of hunger strike. It has therefore formed main concept the Living Wage Campaign protest that started on 17th February. According to the organizers of the protest, many other dejected people were joining the hungers strike in demonstration of solidarity with the poorly paid university workers. One of the people who joined the workers in their quest for justice was Robert Kell, a student at the university. Amongst the issues that pit the workers against the administration of the university is the issue of wage parity for the employees who have been contracted and also consider paying wages in consideration of the relative rates of inflation. The university workers who are demanding better pay are the non-academic staff that includes but not limited to janitors and kitchen staffs. As demonstrated by the banners carried by the protestors, it is obvious that the workers have been struggling to make both ends meet and many of them are living on a cycle of destitution as the wages they get are peanuts. The workers have a grave concern to the university administration for the complete neglect by the University system hence have the feelings of a less fortunate person who is debt. Students were able to join the strike owing to their sympathy for the families of the workers who are earning very meager wages. Children from such families are compelled to work extra hard in school in the hope that their efforts may get noticed through good passes so as to get meaningful employment upon completion of schooling. It is a state of hopelessness as there are many consequences for families who are not having adequate income. They have to work extra hard in school and they have to hope and pray that someone notices them. These are the kids who are deemed to be static. Since most of the parents are just working to keep their families alive, students from such families feel the heat of economic injustice that would characterize their future adulthoods. Income-related inequalities, as is the case in modern world have been a big issue of controversy in the workplace. As is the case at UVA, the university administration is depriving the workers of the right to own substantial capital and other related assets through poor pay. Since adequate income guarantees personal security in the capitalist world, there is growing demand for accumulation of wealth to have the ability of going about basic necessities. It is in this aspect that the UVA administration should seriously consider equality when it comes to distribution of opportunities for wage-based employment. With the global rise in the costs of living and the yearly problems of underemployment, many people find themselves at the far end of the social and economic ladder. The inequality gap is therefore measured in regard to the monthly incomes of the well paid and poorly paid individuals. The famous contention that the rich will continue getting richer and the poor continues to languish in abject poverty is clearly demonstrated at the UVA as illustrated by some of the students who joined the striking workers. For example, a graduate student called David Flood said that "At heart we are making a moral demand of this university". He also said that it is a shock that a University with such kind of endowment in the excess of $5 billion that includes funds being managed for constituent groups should have such devastated workers. To complicate the matters, extreme poverty, which is mostly experienced by workers whose income cannot meet the cost of their normal daily requirements, characterizes just a section of the university working fraternity. Tim Bruno, also a graduate student lamented that it is ridiculous for UVA to pay a section of the employees’ hefty salaries amounting to millions of dollars each year and disregarding the plight of some. The fight for good working conditions by the contracted workers clear show that in the modern world satisfaction at work depends on package and thus works is an economic undertaking to make a living (Fabian Society 27-45). The fundamental issue of equality of remuneration reminds one to question why an institution of higher learning such as UVA could not amicably solve the impasse and it has best brains to find lasting solution labor related disputes even without going to the courts of law. It is therefore interesting to see how the University administration is grappling with the workers’ strike and it is unbelievable to witness how such a problem could persist for close to two weeks without breaking the deadlock. Lack of commitment from the college’s leadership also begs a lot of answers concerning the better ways of the oppressed gaining the ideals of social justice in the developed parts of the world where it is absolutely believed that democracy and the rule of law does not allow for intentional oppression. Besides the issue of underemployment, another area that have suffered a lot of drawbacks as far as social justice is concerned in the recent times is the question of whether the society is concerned with offering its people sufficient income to enable them live a comfortable and productive life and is the social economic rewards at par with the efforts and initiatives?. Such kind of a mess portrayed at the university may be termed a social and economic injustice as to the students and the affected workers; it represents unfairness and injustice in its broader sense. A country such as the US with lots of praises as a land of social and economic justice should not have pockets of such protest if at all such praises are true. Considering the context of economic analysis in the modern world, economic injustice is basically considered as an element of lack of social justice. Societies have recognized their fundamental role in ensuring the existence of economic justice as guided by the practices and principles of market economy. People have known that there is greater freedom to seek justice in times of oppression and not to relent until the demands are addressed. This is an issue that the university workers were well aware of hence downing of tools to protest at the barbaric treatment by the administration was a calculated move to voice themselves beyond the walls of the college so that the society can join them in the quest to just working conditions. Staging the hunger strike is also a good way of attracting sympathy and getting noticed as fast as possible. It is ironical to understand that the university did not listen to the plight of its workers until they turned to the community for support (Kegley 1-3). Why the strike was interesting The University of Virginia strike by workers on contract for better pay can be said to be full of interesting episodes given that this is a state university vested with the ability to attract funding for its internal programs. The strike took many dimensions hence pitting the university administration to deal with students who are supporting the course of the dejected contract workers and the workers themselves who have decided to down their tools. Students joined in the hunger strike because of so many underlying critical issues, one most of the contract workers are like their parents and they can’t imagine that they are being tossed by the university to work for less pay and they have responsibilities. According to Kell, one of the striking university students, he referred to UVA strike as an amazing privilege hence the time to join them in their quest for better pay as they look like his very own family and friends. The striking worker does jobs that can be considered to be of no status hence cleaning of the student hostels and preparing food for the students. It is due to this that they highly identify and attract a lot of sympathy from the student fraternity. Another interesting issue that emerges out of the strike is the refusal of the university leadership to peg the workers’ salaries in regard to inflation. It is true that the contract workers bear the wrath of economic hardships when the cost of living goes up as they have meager earnings. It is ironical for the university to adjust fees charged to students to cater for inflations and fail to do so to the lowly-paid workers. It is funny to note that the university management did not have any good reason to throw away the inflation issue as they just casually said that it is a promise they can’t guarantee given that the relationship of the university with the state is currently very complex which leads to two classes of workers. There is one group that their pay is solely determined by the state and another whose package is decided by the university management. It beats logic to find that the workers who fall in the mandate of the university management are the ones who are crying foul of the system simply because their concerns have been assumed. According to the university management, the number of people earning less than $25,000 has drastically reduced (wina.com 1-3). It is also interesting to observe the class issue in the strike. A workers strike should involve all employees of an organization, but in the case of UVA, it seems that permanent employees have no immediate issues of concern as far as salary is concerned hence have resorted to watch at a distance on how their junior colleagues on contract are struggling to be heard. Instead of the students extending their sympathies to the lowly-paid workers, it would have been senior and well paid workers such as the non-academic staff joining in the strike to help their colleagues get good pay. Wage disparity as a determinant of class stratification Wages has been used by employers to give a social divide amongst people working in the same organization. As evident at UVA, the university working community has been divided into social and economic classes and since the latter influences social composition, the workers who earn low salaries are at the lowest point of social and economic ladder. The process of job groupings has significantly changed social stratification in the work place. In addition to market oriented economies that lay focus on profitability at the expense of the welfare of their human capital. Capitalist organizations are mainly characterized by the fundamental need to acquire more assets and opportunities and in the process minimize the operational costs. Most organizations are known to pay poor wages to their junior staff and keep a few individuals at the top with hefty packages. In modern organizations inequalities created by the management and markets are the main determinants of how an individual lives. The way the workers have been poorly treated during the period of the strike shows that the underprivileged individuals have no backing in their quest since very few people listen to them. The university administration has also demonstrated that with the ongoing trends of transition to market economies, the chances of getting good wages largely depends on the quality of education and professional experience. In general, economic factors have gained prominence while fair distribution of income is utterly ignored amongst the economic determinants of social stratification. For the case of the contract workers at UVA, unlike employees with good pay such as lecturers and administrators, they have very few options of shielding themselves against uncertainties such as inflation hence they are immensely affected by low wages (Wage Campaign 1-4). Conclusion According to Brewer et al (27), in the world over, advancements in social and economic justice at work calls for exertion of pressure on the administration or organizational leadership. As noted at the UVA such sporadic and brief protests against such injustices. Although they may not have immediate effects, they awaken and remind the society of the need to be rational in doing business. The main problem of capitalism is that organizations have been tuned to focus on profitability at the expense of those who help bring the growth, thus the expression of grievances as well as demands of workers who do not benefit much from such organizations are severely dwelt a blow by the economic arrangements of organizations. In many instances workers unions are often reduced to mere tools of wedging protests focused on drumming societal support against errant organizations. It is due to this that trade unions have lost meaning and direction hence a decline in both influence and number. Even though democracy is gradually gaining ground at work place, it is still compromised by class issue that brings a lot of differences when considered in terms of institutions and economic relations. The concept of employment reform that has been gaining ground is mandated to facilitate justice at work and could come in handy in identifying the needs of economic justice and consequently strengthen the role of the employees hence paving way for organizational democracy which is a prerequisite for equity at work. Photos of the wage campaign Works Cited UVA Says Occupy Movement Not Welcome On University Property. Retrieved March 04, 2012 from http://www.wina.com/pages/11611152.php? Brewer, M., et al, Poverty and Inequality in the UK: 2008, IFS Commentary No. 105, p. 27. London: Institute of Fiscal Studies, 2008. Fabian Society (2006) Narrowing the Gap. London: Fabian Society Kegley, Dan. UVa hunger striker from Marion. Retrieved March 04, 2012 from http://www2.swvatoday.com/news/2012/mar/04/uva-hunger-striker-marion-ar-1736113/ Wage Campaign. Retrieved March 04, 2012 from http://www.c- ville.com/Article/UVA/Hunger_strikers_risk_health_for_living_wage_campaign/ Read More