March 15, 2005
Georgetown Living Wage Activists Launch Hunger Strike
Demanding a "Living Wage NOW" activists with the Georgetown Living Wage campaign have ratcheted up the stakes of their campaign announcing they'll begin a hunger strike at a rally at noon today. It is unclear exactly how many students will participate in the hunger strike, but the group has announced that "coalition members will not consume food again until this university has accepted all of our demands by adopting a Living Wage policy based firmly on costs of living in DC," demanding "serious negotiations as soon as possible with administrators who have decision-making power." They'll be holding daily rallies at 12 noon, vigils at 6 PM, and meetings at 9 PM at Georgetown's Red Square for the duration of the strike.
The coalition says workers at Georgetown University earn as little as $6.60 an hour, which they call a "poverty wage" and say low wages force many employees to take two jobs to make ends meet. DCist photographer Grayson Shepard snapped this photo of a rally earlier this month.





There are also many liberals and democrats who are *opposed* to the living wage, and for good reason!
Check out the opposition at www.livingwagetruth.com.
Demand a legitimate debate on this issue! The living wage discriminates against the poor!
Congrats! to all the people involved in this campaign at Georgetown!
-Friends from the University of Wisconsin, Madison