Rallying in front of the John Harvard statue, PSLM protesters must influence voices far from the Yard, who, after a contract is signed, may sit back and take no notice of how the salaries impact the lives of their employees. Outsourced employees, it seems, are dispensable enough.
If the Living Wage Campaign is to be successful, the PSLM and its supporters must turn the focus to companies like SSI and UNICCO that keep the salaries of those employed by the University at less than the living wage. In this stage of the fight, the Living Wage Campaign has lost the iconic power of John Harvard, Heartless Employer, but must make its call heard in the executive offices of the outsourcers. Only when the outsourcers are made to comply can the campaign consider itself successful.
Adam I. Arenson '00-'01 is a history and literature concentrator in Lowell House. His column appears on alternate Thursdays.