The Staff Union at UVA (SUUVA) launched a new campaign to sign up faculty members today on the Corner. The union is six years old, and traditionally, says Jan Cornell, SUUVA president, it has been only for UVA staff. Now, though, it has opened its membership to faculty.
"We need their support," says Cornell. "America, we’re in bad shape. People are struggling. UVA pays $9.56 an hour. What is that? There are so many issues for the union to take on."
UVA spokesperson Carol Wood disputes the $9.56-an-hour number, which was also printed on flyers handed out at the rally. According to Wood, UVA’s pay band starts at $10.14 an hour. With the addition of benefits, Wood says via e-mail, the number is $13.87 an hour.
Jan Cornell, SUUVA president, says she expects
to sign up 20 faculty members this week.
Cornell says she expects at least 20 faculty to sign up this week. Within 30 minutes of launching the campaign in front of Bodo’s Bagels, she held roughly 10 sign-up sheets from new members.
Latin American History Professor Herbert "Tico" Braun* was one of the faculty members who signed up. Handing his sheet to Cornell, he told her "It feels great to be a part of something larger than my own little existence."
*Braun was incorrectly identified as Herbert "Tito" Brown in an earlier version of this post.