UT workers rally demanding $10K across-the-board pay raise

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Some workers at the University of Texas participated in a rally Wednesday afternoon demanding higher pay.

The workers were members of the Texas State Employees Union (TSEU) and held the rally wanting a $10,000 raise for every campus worker.

According to rally organizers, thousands of signatures were collected and will be presented to UT President Jay Hartzell.

The union said the last time UT workers received an across-the-board pay raise was more than twenty years ago in 2001.

According to the City of Austin's compensation division, the city’s living wage is $20.80 an hour or roughly $43,000 per year.

The union said the university's lowest-paid workers make $15 an hour—about $31,000 per year.

According to the UT Human Resources Staff Demographics dashboard, the current staff headcount was 14,599, giving the demanded raise to the listed staff count would raise costs by $145,990,000 per year.

The dashboards do not include faculty, student employees or casual employees, all of which appear to fall into the demanded $10,000 per year pay raise.

TSEU said it conducted research that showed the university was in strong financial shape and could afford to provide every employee with a $10,000 raise.

“UT-Austin has the highest credit rating possible and surplus cash available,” TSEU said.

Union member Carissa Ceasor also works for UT and said money problems could take a toll on students.

“I think like a lot of the mental health issues that we end up seeing around campus can be caused by finances even more than like grade stress,” Ceasor said. "Because grades are numbers that don't really affect you, but money is numbers that decide whether or not you get to eat."

KXAN reached out to the university for a statement about the rally and the concerns of the union. This article will be updated if a statement is received.