G'Town Students Begin Hunger Strike For Living Wage

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

A 3-year campaign for a living wage for Georgetown University campus workers escalated yesterday when students began a hunger strike after the Senior Vice President of the University Spiros Dimolistas decided to disregard the Living Wage Proposal created by a subcommittee he chartered. Instead, Dimolistas proposed an inadequate wage increase that is not based on the real cost of living in DC and does not include any of the non-monetary benefits of the Living Wage Proposal. Twenty-six students began the hunger strike yesterday to challenge Georgetown to take the needs of campus workers seriously, vowing to fast until the University commits to a living wage policy based on calculations for DC, indexed to the cost of living, for all campus workers. Students will be camped out on Red Square at Georgetown (see On The Line for details) and will be holding daily rallies there at noon and candle light vigils at 6P. Union members and supporters are invited to stop by anytime and show their solidarity. The students are accepting monetary donations for campaign expenses on their website and donations of juice and water can be brought to Red Square.
- reported by Mackenzie Baris