Students working in dining halls, libraries and other facilities will see their pay go up 30 percent, but some protesters say the raise is not enough.
Rutgers University students who work minimum wage jobs on campus will start the new year with a big raise -- but some protesters say the pay boost is too stingy.
Minimum wage for student workers will go from $8.44 an hour to $11 an hour, starting Jan. 1, Rutgers President Robert Barchi said in a letter to students Monday.
The 30 percent raise affects more than 13,000 students who work in dining halls, libraries, offices and other facilities on the New Brunswick-Piscataway, Newark and Camden campuses, the president said. Student in the Federal Work Study program will also get the boost in pay.
"Over the last several years, I am proud that we have been able to keep tuition increases at a minimum while simultaneously strengthening our academic profile," Barchi wrote in his letter. "Despite our efforts, more than 13,000 of you still must commit many hours each week to working on our campuses to defray the cost of your education. While holding an on-campus job can offer many benefits, we are cognizant of the delicate balance that you must strike between work and your studies."
N.J.'s minimum wage going up 16 cents
The raise, which does not affect non-student workers on campus, comes after months of protests by students calling for Rutgers to boost its minimum wage from $8.44, the state's minimum wage, to $15 an hour.
Mariah Wood, one of the student organizers of the "Fight for Fifteen" movement, said the raise to $11 an hour is not enough for student workers who struggle to pay for rent, food and medical care while paying Rutgers tuition.
"This is only a partial victory," Wood wrote Monday on the group's Facebook page. "Barchi is TERRIFIED of us because we have POWER. He is willing to throw us a bone because he knows we have the ability to make it so he can't pass a budget -- he knows we can shut this university down."
Wood called on students to join a 2:30 p.m. "Fight for Fifteen" demonstration today at the Rutgers Board of Trustees meeting at the Douglass Student Center in New Brunswick.
The Rutgers fight to increase the school's minimum wage is part of a national movement for better pay on college campuses. There have been similar protests from the University of Maryland and Columbia University to San Francisco State University.
The University of Washington is among the schools that have raised their minimum wage to $15 an hour after student protests.
In New Jersey, Gov.-elect Phil Murphy made raising the state's minimum wage to $15 one of his campaign promises. Though the Democrat has not given many specifics on his plan.
"This is as high on the priority list as anything we've got," Murphy said in November, shortly after he was elected to succeed Republican Gov. Chris Christie.
New Jersey's statewide minimum wage is slated to go up 16 cents in January to $8.60 an hour. The minor increase is prompted by an increase in the consumer price index, which is used to set the minimum wage each year.
Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find her at KellyHeyboerReporter on Facebook.