" It's a shame that money is no object at UM when it comes to sports, but the support staff starves to death. "

" workers rally "

" The employees need to go back to work. They chose those jobs. If they want a raise, they can find something else to do. By the way, who is going to pay for these raises, the taxpayers or is it going to be another tuition increase? That's just what we need. "

" The UM workers always seem to pick the exact worst time to ask for a raise, when the state is facing budget problems. Don't the union leaders have more brains than to always do that ?
Also, the UM structure is as such....lots of do nothing well paid bureaucrats at the top with nothing to do but make busy work for swarms of low paid workers at the bottom.
The real answer is to cut all the fat and then pay well the reduced number of workers, and not 8 or ever 10 an hour but 20-30.
But part of the unspoken adjenda of education is to "create" jobs, and to create lots of them and employ the most numbers of people, which translates to low pay...And I doubt the mind set will ever change...so to the UM workers, sorry, but get used to lousy wages....
My advice to the workers - your only satisfaction my come from picketing the president's personal residence with his salary plastered on your signs. "

" You are not kidding, Eunice. I worked for UM years ago making minimum wage, and yet the amount of expensive food that is thrown away by them is shocking. That and all they spend on sports, as well. I guess UM figures if students who need a job that is flexible enough to work around their school schedule, they should be thrilled to work for next to nothing. "

" "Ken Martin wrote on Nov 21, 2008 10:42 AM:

" The employees need to go back to work. They chose those jobs. If they want a raise, they can find something else to do..."

Ken, we have found something else to do. Look into how many University of Montana employees work 2nd and even third job just to attempt to pay the basic bills. Not to mention those who are on public assistance. There are also departments struggling with retention of good employees because they DO leave for better paying jobs when they can find them (many of them out of state). "

" Why do we constantly support "race-to-the-bottom wages" in this country? It's like why even have a minimum wage? Let's just pay people like Chinese factory workers or, hell, not at all! If you are dependent upon a paycheck, if you sell your labor on the installment plan, then you should be rallying for higher wages for EVERY worker. We all deserve more. This is why workers should unite and not continue to let wages divide them.

Also, let's not forget that staff wages at UM support the Missoula community and local businesses. For example, some of my wages (and my partner's) go directly to Pattee Creek Market every month. I'm sure local businessman, Jim Edwards, is happy about that!

And, yes, we chose these jobs and many of us enjoy what we do! There is nothing more rewarding than being a public servant, helping people, and finding solutions to human problems. Students are a great group to serve. We can't all be widget-makers, working for CEOs who bring home 400% more than their lowest paid workers. UM also offers fairly decent benefits, not the least of which is the tuition fee waiver that enables staff to take classes for free.

UM is the economic centerpiece of Missoula. There isn't a single business or service that isn't dependent upon it in some way. So, my union brothers and sisters, let's keep fighting for what we deserve! Great job yesterday! "

" Ken, not everyone is lucky enough to have an understanding employer who will let them have odd hours and work around their school schedule, which is why so many students work at the U. I looked into working for DirecTV when they first opened shop here, and no way will they work around a school schedule. I'm sure they are not the only ones. Working and going to school is hard enough - and people who have to do so should not be further burdened by being paid such low wages. "

" Custodians and administrative assistants earn wages commensurate with their education level. If you don't want to be a custodian, admin asst, or food service worker, then seek educational opportunities that will enable you to rise out of those positions. There are dozens of ways to do this. These jobs on campus should be given to students as work-study opportunities. "

" Mike, so you're telling the students who work at UM that in order to get paid better wages, they need to ... go to school? "

" Education and employment is one of the worst "marriages" in our society. MOST of the jobs people do in this country do NOT require a college education. Rather, they require really good training, mentoring, supervision, etc. AND I'M NOT KNOCKING EDUCATION. Higher education creates better citizens--NOT BETTER WORKERS. Yes, some jobs do require an education, a degree or license, but most don't.

We commodified education as a way to create and maintain a permanent underclass. As we know, only certain people can access higher education. They then apply for jobs that REQUIRE a degree, even though a degree is not necessary to perform the job. It's an employer's lazy "first cut." This ensures only certain people will have access to the "good" jobs.

But here's where education is really valuable to society and why we should support it: enlightened citizens, expansion of world view, exposure to new ways of thinking and being in the world, "meeting" fellow humans who have existed in the past, understanding of differing points of view, perhaps travel abroad, and just basically unplugging our heads from our navels. Many of the best and brightest in the world and throughout history, never got a college degree. "

" The generic job titles held on this campus do not reflect the level of education the employee might have or the level of responsibility assigned to that person. Administrative assistants often have fiscal responsibilities, are academic advisors, and are information baristas for the department they serve. Custodians and the good people in Facility Services are undervalued craftspeople who deal with messes every day. It is incorrect to say or think we are uneducated.

We deserve to have fair and equal pay for the work we do. We are hard-working employees who make the University run day in and day out. We are a team. Students and faculty are typically only here 9 months out of the year - the staff people are here always. "

" i cant belive what your paying them most universitys start off at a minumium 15.00 per hour .theyed be better off to work at wall mart .they pay more than that, how cheap can they get////.mabey the proffesors oughtto work for those kind of wages .and see how the middle class has to survive// "

" " Having worked at the U, I can tell you that there are a whole lot of people doing a whole lot of nothing, from the top on down. And I'm not knocking or blaming anyone, that's just the way it is, life in a bloated buearocray.
You wanna solve the wage problem, it's simple, let the employee base dwindle to half of it's current size thru simple attrition then double the wages, and do it for the most deserving - those at the bottom.
If the president was captured by aliens tomorrow, I dare say the U wouldn't miss a beat or even know he was gone and that goes for 1/2 the staff up there. The students would all still get the exact same education, the grass would grow and the sun would shine.
Remember, Abraham Lincoln only had a few months of class in a 1 teacher school house. Now we need 20 years in class, advanced degrees, a staff and faculty of 1000s, vast campus, computers and networks, football teams, a statdium even the ancient Romans would envy and a bloated bureaucracy with a budget larger than most 3rd world countries; and all that just to get someone enough education to manage a shoe store. Come on folks...who are we kiddin' here. " "

" Awww, come on - UM has the same philosophy as WalMart when it comes to regular employees - let the government take care of them and you can all afford it. The rub here is that Uncle Tester has a hard-on for a private entity that failed to support him rather than a state entity that is costing us all big bucks. "

" the workers at the University are not asking for anything other than fair compensation for their hard work. I dare say that the average private sector worker expects a raise every year and that raise should be at least 10% or at the very least a yearly bonus.The entry level wage at the university for staff has remained at $8.25/hr for five years.All that the employees are asking for is to work for an employer that is sensitive to the fact that at the university there are over one hundred people that are living at or below the federal guidelines for POVERTY.Lets hope that the Powers to be will listen and act with wisdom and justice. Really Im not joking!! "