PSLM members say worker training and increased benefits are not a substitute for higher paychecks.
"People in this University aren't poor because they aren't well-trained, they're poor because the University pays poverty wages," Erickson says.
"[Workers] can't pay their rent in dental visits or museum passes," Offner says.
PSLM members also attack the committee's efforts to lower eligibility requirements for benefits. They say lowering the minimum number of hours necessary for health benefits will result in employers' cutting hours, not in more workers receiving health care.
"It's a common practice at Harvard to give part-time workers the number of hours that just fall short of benefits," Offner says. "This actually threatens to hurt workers."
Mills says the committee recognized that employers could cut hours but concluded that this was not a strong possibility.
"We debated that and decided that to the best of our knowledge that wouldn't happen that often," he says. "It is a risk we are aware of."
Committee members say students should be pleased that the University has decided to act.
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