Apr. 18, 2005 – A student protest demanding better wages for campus contract employees continues as university administrators agreed to incremental improvements. Since April 4, more than a dozen students have occupied the administration building at St. Louis’s Washington University. They say they are determined to stay until the school agrees to raise pay for contract employees, including janitors and groundskeepers on the campus.
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After a week of protest inside the building and an offer from the university to add $500,000 toward employees’ compensation in 2005, some of the students began a hunger strike, increasing pressure on the school. The protesters say the university needs to commit at least $2.4 million to bring employee compensation up to a livable standard. On Saturday -- six days into their fast, the students agreed to temporarily end their hunger strike after Chancellor Mark Wrighton agreed to meet with them three times this week. Meanwhile the demonstration has garnered support from community members, including politicians, clergy and parents, who have taken up fasting in solidarity.
