Labor union asks Mississippi State University to improve wages, benefits for all employees

The United Campus Workers of Mississippi at Mississippi State University on Wednesday held a day of awareness and rally in support of a living wage for faculty, staff, graduate assistants and other employees.

"One of the things that has come up a couple different times is, I think it's a staff policy, where you have to access your vacation time before you access your sick leave," said Zach Dykema, a graduate student at MSU. "Also we'd love to do something with health insurance. Across positions, people aren't content with the current plans that are accessible."

The group held a day of events on the Drill Field to raise awareness of the UCW and its mission and gather more signatures for its petition, which was presented to President Mark Keenum's office Wednesday afternoon. UCW volunteers were available to talk to students and others and host games like corn hole but with salary figures set at certain distances to illustrate how much a salary range was within reach — or not.

Anyone stopping by the UCW table was offered snacks and drinks along with friendly conversation around the UCW table and the banner featuring many of the signatures supporting more equitable wages along with comments they've collected from supporters of the petition.

"Overall I think the event went really well," Dykema said.

Keenum, who was invited to stop by the UCW table to talk with representatives in person, was not available to receive the petition, but had responded to an earlier letter requesting a meeting.

"As I have often stated, my No. 1 priority at Mississippi State is taking care of our people," Keenum said in the letter, which was provided to the Clarion Ledger. "I have been a strong advocate for the men and women on our campus who have made MSU the state's leading university. That includes sharing this message with our state leaders in Jackson throughout my tenure."

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University funding is approved by the Legislature.

Keenum's letter also recommended the UCW work with other campus groups that are official representatives of students, faculty and staff.

The UCW petition is asking for three things:

• Raise the minimum pay for all full-time employees to $24 an hour or $48,300 annual salary

• Provide standardized, 12-month stipends for graduate students of at least $31,200 after fees

• Guarantee an annual cost of living adjustment of 2.5%

The labor union started a chapter at MSU in 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, said James Chamberlain, an associate professor of political science at the university. It embraces every worker paid by the university, including graduate assistants, staff and faculty.

"I reached out to the union to have a presence here because I was worried about how things were going and whether the university was doing enough to protect its workers," he said.

There are longer-term plans to build the union membership and work on other goals.

"We have some catching up to do with other places," Chamberlain said. "We're obviously trying to get more people to join and help people in their working lives through this, and actually show them that we can achieve something."

Walker Lake, a student at Mississippi State, doesn't work for the university but supports what UCW is hoping to accomplish. He said students working on campus make minimum wage, which usually isn't enough to meet their financial needs.

"To me, it's really important that everyone who has a job on campus, especially students, has a job that can support them financially," he said. "I couldn't imagine working and making such little money — you can't even buy dinner for $7.25."

According to a Southern University Group report on the MSU website, salaries for professors are much lower in most disciplines than at other universities in the group, which is comprised of 31 peer universities across the southern United States.

For example, for the 2022-23 school year, the mean salary for a biology professor at State is approximately $118,000, while the mean salary for all 31 universities is $144,000 — or 22% lower. A full-time instructor in aerospace engineering makes between $66,000 and $76,000 per year with a mean of $72,000 — about 20% lower than the SUG mean of $86,000.

Similar wage comparisons are not available for staff and other positions on campus.

Overall, Mississippi universities rank last in faculty salaries, with an average of $73,000 annually, according to a 2023 report by the National Education Association. Louisiana and Arkansas faculty salaries average $74,000 per year, while other nearby states like Tennessee and Georgia fare better with average annual salaries at around $85,000. The national average for faculty is roughly $96,000. However, the report also says that Mississippi has one of the lowest costs of living in the nation.

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This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Mississippi State rally seeks fair wages for campus employees