2008 Woodie Awards
Paycheck to paycheck
Webster custodial and facilities staff members get paid more than their Washington University counterparts. But they're not all happy.
By: Lindsey Pilcher
Issue date: 4/21/05 Section: News
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The starting rate for custodial workers at Webster is $7.75, and the top payment is $10, said Mike Murphy, the union representative for Sodexho employees at Webster. They also receive medical insurance, which the workers at Wash U, who are subcontracted through Aramark, do not get. The night shift gets an average of 50 cents more an hour.
Phyllis Henderson, who has worked on the custodial staff for four years, said that no job could ever pay her what she's worth, but she's still happy with her job at Sodexho.
"We start our jobs off as one of the top in the field," said Henderson. "The start-off pay is higher than most custodial jobs in this area."
The living wage in St. Louis is $9.79 an hour. A living wage, according to a St. Louis ordinance, is an hourly wage rate that, on an annual basis, is equivalent to 130 percent of the federal Poverty Guidelines for a family of three.
Steve Tatum, who graduated from Webster with a degree in music, works as a shift supervisor for a little less than the living wage at $9.50 an hour, but he has no complaints.
"I'm a musician, so this is easy," said Tatum, who describes his custodial job as lightweight. "I can do what I want when I get off work."
Other custodians think that the pay isn't enough. One worker, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the pay was not enough to live on, and could only buy enough gas to get to and from work.
Webster sub-contracts both its custodial and food service staff to Sodexho. The maintenance workers at Webster are hired directly through the university, and are eligible for tuition remission. Several technicians said that they make an hourly rate that is right around the living wage.