For Immediate Release

September 17, 2009, Berkeley, California

Contact: Thomas W. Smith, (510) 845-6232, ext.111, tsmith@sksm.edu

STARR KING SCHOOL FOR THE MINISTRY IMPLEMENTS COMPREHENSIVE LIVING WAGE POLICY

Starr King School for the Ministry’s (SKSM) Board of Trustees has adopted a comprehensive living wage policy for all employees: salaried, temporary, and work-study students.  Workers at the 105-year-old Unitarian Universalist seminary must be compensated no less than $14 an hour, the amount currently set by the Berkeley Living Wage Ordinance. The successful motion was presented by the board's student trustees.

The Berkeley Living Wage Ordinance was implemented by the City of Berkeley in 2000.  It mandates that vendors contracting or subcontracting services with the City must meet or exceed the living wage requirement when compensating their employees.

Starr King is not a City of Berkley vendor; it has, however, voluntarily agreed to pay all employees consistent with the hourly wage level set by the Berkeley Living Wage Ordinance.

 “Our administrators are not the highest paid,” says Thomas W. Smith, Starr King’s Vice President for Finance and Administration. “In keeping with our values, the trustees deem it necessary to first lift up those lowest on the pay scale.  This reflects our commitment to educating leaders who will promote just and sustainable communities because we demonstrably embody these values, as an institution.”

Master of Divinity Student Cathy Rion reflects on the importance of this achievement in the current economy. “We implemented this policy during tough financial times.  Students struggle trying to figure out how to afford a seminary education and institutions of higher learning are laying off staff and raising tuition. Nevertheless, Starr King lives out its values. We call on all schools and centers of the GTU to commit to paying all their employees at least the Berkeley Living Wage.”

About Starr King School for the Ministry

Starr King School for the Ministry has been educating people for Unitarian Universalist ministry and for progressive religious leadership in society since 1904. It offers Master of Divinity, Master of Arts for Social Change, and Master of Arts degrees and is a member of the Graduate Theological Union.

Starr King School for the Ministry
2441 Le Conte Ave.
Berkeley CA 94704

 

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