Officers demand higher wages
Shawn McGann
Issue date: 3/17/08 Section: News
"All that we're asking for is that we be given the tools to perform our jobs more effectively and that our wages reflect the services that we provide," the letter states.
Cindy Castillo, director of Financial Aid and Scholarships at De Anza, said that the officers are not being passed over for a raise, and that, in fact, they are already being paid close to what other student employees are making due to an earlier increase in officer wages.
The system in place for deciding student employees' wages puts each employee into one of four tiers, each tier receiving progressively higher pay, she said. There is an "entry level," an "intermediate level," a "specialist level" and a "technical level."
If a manager was to hire a new employee knowing that a raise in pay would later be necessary in order to meet minimum wage requirements, he might simply start that employee at a higher wage level than usual in order to forego the later pay increase.
As the employee would already be earning more than most other employees in his tier, situations could arise where it would seem as if he were being passed over for a raise when, in fact, he was not.
At the moment, the student officers are not satisfied with this explanation, and they remain convinced that the issue is all about money and the college's unwillingness to part with it.
Shawn McGann is a staff reporter for La Voz. Contact him at shawnmcgann@lavozdeanza.com.
Cindy Castillo, director of Financial Aid and Scholarships at De Anza, said that the officers are not being passed over for a raise, and that, in fact, they are already being paid close to what other student employees are making due to an earlier increase in officer wages.
The system in place for deciding student employees' wages puts each employee into one of four tiers, each tier receiving progressively higher pay, she said. There is an "entry level," an "intermediate level," a "specialist level" and a "technical level."
If a manager was to hire a new employee knowing that a raise in pay would later be necessary in order to meet minimum wage requirements, he might simply start that employee at a higher wage level than usual in order to forego the later pay increase.
As the employee would already be earning more than most other employees in his tier, situations could arise where it would seem as if he were being passed over for a raise when, in fact, he was not.
At the moment, the student officers are not satisfied with this explanation, and they remain convinced that the issue is all about money and the college's unwillingness to part with it.
Shawn McGann is a staff reporter for La Voz. Contact him at shawnmcgann@lavozdeanza.com.
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