Making a Brown janitorial or food services job more desirable in terms of wages than other janitorial or food service jobs would attract a stronger workforce. The demand for labor at Brown is inelastic a certain amount of work must be done at the University in order for it to function, regardless of the cost of labor. Therefore, implementing better labor standards on campus will not cause current Brown workers to lose their jobs. However, there might be a reduction in the number of temporary jobs as it would become more efficient for the University to permanent workers. The University is limited in the amount it can increase tuition by the cost of tuition at its peer institutions.
Tuition is set largely independently of the university s operating costs.
The University has a finite amount of resources. The University must live up to its core ideals and values before reaching beyond that. There will always be priority dilemmas within the University. It is necessary to recognize that certain things, such as a living wage and health care, are moral imperatives and must therefore be done prior to tackling those dilemmas. While setting the definition of a living wage is inherently difficult, this difficulty should not cause us to abandon the effort.