On Nov. 21, the minimum wage will increase from $12.50 to $15 an hour, according to a Newscenter article published by UR Spokesperson Sara Miller. This increase, which was initially planned to happen in two steps between now and December 2022, will affect all employees, regardless of union status or hours worked.
“We are in a better, more stable financial situation than when we announced our initial commitment and timeframe, so I am very pleased to be able to take this important step,” University President Sarah Mangelsdorf said in the Newscenter article.
However, this increase will not affect student employees, Miller wrote in an email to the Campus Times, as “wage increases for students are determined through a different process.”
Miller said that there is a process currently underway to increase the student employee minimum wage. She did not have any information on how long this process will take.
Yesterday, an SA impact petition went live requesting a $15 minimum wage for students, calling students’ exclusion from next week’s wage increase “massively unfair.” As of 3:43 p.m., it has reached 215 signatures, 35 short of the 250 minimum required to guarantee that SA reviews the petition.
The minimum wage is already set to increase in New York state to $13.20 at the end of this calendar year. For the 2016-2017 state budget, New York passed legislation enacting an annual minimum wage increase until $15 is reached. Increases for 2022 and beyond have not yet been published, with the latest report saying that “growth [will] be rule-based for 2022 and beyond.”
