Solidarity

We stand with students and workers in the face of austerity.

We face an economic crisis on a level unseen since the Great Depression which will likely result in austerity. UVA is an immensely wealthy institution. Austerity is a choice, and one we will not accept.

WE DEMAND:

Continue to pay students employed through Federal Work Study programs, even if they are unable to return to Grounds for health reasons/travel restrictions or if their jobs no longer exist due to COVID-19.

    • As eligibility for FWS programs is based on financial need, FWS employees will likely be among the hardest hit by the economic repercussions of Covid-19.

    • A reduction in FWS hours, or jobs should be seen as a reduction in financial aid, an unacceptable outcome of this crisis.

    • UVA continued to pay FWS employees who could not work during the spring semester. Ceasing to pay these students before the public health crisis has ended would be harmful and exacerbate class inequality at the university..

    • For those FWS students who do return to work, we demand they receive adequate PPE, and hazard pay. Operating a massive school during a pandemic warrants hazard pay as it puts workers and students at risk.

A firing freeze through the 2022-2023 academic year: no workers will be fired as part of budget cuts for 2 years and the current hiring freeze will be rolled back

    • Austerity is often used as an excuse to cut ethnic studies programs. We want a guarantee that our programs will remain intact. Additionally, we reject the insistence on austerity. UVA is wealthy enough to weather the storm of a financial downturn without firing people, or not renewing their contracts.

    • The currently fired workers should be rehired, and the hiring freeze ended.

    • Our African American and African studies program, among other ethnic studies programs, should be expanded, not threatened, and we need to expand our commitment to anti-racist programs, not put them under scrutiny with austerity.

Hazard pay for all workers including non-FWS, direct employees, contracted, and part-time workers.

    • To maintain public health, workers will have to perform additional labor, such as frequently sanitizing their workspaces and taking steps to ensure proper social distancing, and they must be compensated for this.

    • In addition, workers whose jobs place them in close contact with others will have to get tested more frequently, taking more time from their day.