Fear and unity

University of Memphis custodian Patricia Donaldson wakes up at two a.m. Monday through Friday to arrive at work on time an hour later. She alone is responsible for cleaning the entire Edward J. Meeman Journalism building by 11 a.m.

Donaldson said when she started working at The U of M, there were three people cleaning the three-floor building on Veterans Avenue. During the week she does all of the classrooms, offices and bathrooms, by herself, for $8.25 an hour, only a quarter more than when she first began work for The University five years ago.

Donaldson and her coworker Emma Davis, also a custodial worker, said when they've discussed pay with their supervisors in the past, they're told they should be grateful to have a job.

In 2009, they decided they were ready for a change. The ladies joined the United Campus Workers Union to speak out against their low pay and advocate a raise to the living wage in Memphis, $11.62 an hour according to the Workers Interfaith Network.

But not all campus workers are supportive of that effort, according to Donaldson and Davis. They said some will not speak out for fear they will lose their jobs.

"People will tell us what they need us to say, but don't want to do it themselves," said Davis. "They labeled me as a trouble maker because I stand up and speak out."

Tom Smith, coordinator of The U of M United Campus Workers for two years, said of the 285 custodial workers on campus, only 30 percent are in the union. He said with 50 percent, the union could make a stronger statement to The U of M administration.

"I hope The University recognizes (workers') right to organize. They can't be fired for organizing," he said. "It would be a clear violation of their human rights, constitutional rights, and the law."

Still, Smith said workers have told him that supervisors have made illegal comments to them, telling them that joining the union could jeopardize their employment.

"It's their human right to organize and that's what we're really here for," he said. "People deserve to be paid for their hard work."

In October 2010, United Campus Workers, Workers Interfaith Network and the Progressive Student Alliance held a public forum in the University Center about wages and changes to workers' insurance policies.

At the forum, Smith said at $11.62 an hour someone could support a family, have a home, transportation and afford groceries, but not pay off debt or start a savings or retirement fund.

Calvin Strong, director of custodial and landscape services at The U of M, said he has never heard about the United Campus Workers Union and that workers have not received a raise because it has not been included in the governor's budget for the past four years.

"I would like to have one," he said. "But for now I'm grateful to have a job."

He said a union on campus is not necessary.

"Usually a union is started when problems among employees and management can't be resolved," he said. "There are no issues in the past or future that can't be resolved that I am aware of."

Strong went on to say that he is not aware of any reason that anyone could lose their job for joining an organization.

"That's their own fear and trepidation," he said.

Davis currently makes $9.25 an hour, a two-dollar increase from 2005 when she started working for The University. She said she used to work two jobs to make ends meet, but quit the second job so she could get some sleep.

"My body will only allow me to work one job. I was paying $550 a month in rent before I finally had to tell my landlord, ‘I'm not making that type of money,'" she said. "My landlord knocked $100 off when I explained the situation, but I still have a light bill, a daughter in college and a son. If he needs more uniforms, another pair of shoes, I have to let a bill double so he can get what he needs."