Campus Jobs Evaporate, and Students are Left Out of UW-System Pay Plan

This story was published in the UWM Post on March 18.

As the world continues rolling into unprecedented times, and the coronavirus pandemic surges on, the UW System is leaving student employees out of their COVID-19 leave policies.

On March 16, Andres Valdez went to work at the Klotsche Center. At 11:35 a.m., Valdez and other Rec Center employees received an email that read, “I just met with the rest of the pro staff, and as of right now here is what we are doing: We are currently staying open.”

Less than five hours later, a new message read, “University Recreation will close at 7 pm today.”

That afternoon, Chancellor Mark Mone had sent an email to faculty and staff saying UWM was limiting all onsite, “non-essential” operations and moving some to a virtual environment. For those who were non-essential employees and couldn’t work at home, Mone introduced the UW System’s COVID-19 leave policy. It gives qualified, full-time employees 80 hours of paid leave. However, the policy excludes student employees.

“I have no idea how long I will go without pay,” Valdez said. “It could be weeks or months, and I still need to pay for rent and utilities. It’s also difficult because it’s hard to apply for any new jobs since most things are closed.”

Valdez isn’t alone. Student employees from UWM Restaurant Operations, the Grind, B.O.S.S., Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the Union Rec Center and others are now scrambling to find jobs at a time when many businesses are closed or aren’t letting people into their buildings for interviews. The situation is only getting worse as time goes on.

“I’m upset that the university hasn’t addressed the needs of students that depend on these on-campus jobs to get by,” said UWM Restaurant Operations employee Thomas Madlon. “The UW System should’ve considered the impact of not including student employees in policies.”

Madlon works at UWM’s Union Station. He received an email March 17 stating they would be closing at the end of the week, giving him and 80 other Union Station student employees three business days to find and apply to a new job, during a time when jobs are limited.

The next day, on March 18, Union Station employees received an email that they would not be able to work the rest of the week. When Madlon asked what he was supposed to do, the employment and scheduling manager told him she didn’t know and to contact the Dean of Students.

The UWM Post reached out the Dean of Students, asking what resources they have available, since student employees were being directed to them for help. No one answered the phone in the Dean of Students office and did not return emails to the UWM Post or to student employees seeking help.

Amber Smith is the Union Station student administrator. She’s upset that the university gave her no time to prepare for unemployment. Smith doesn’t understand why full-time employees are receiving help from the UW System, but part-time and full-time student employees are not.

“They have never looked out for student workers,” said Smith. “Now I literally don’t know if I’m going to be able to keep a roof over my head because all they care about is profiting off students instead of supporting us like we support them. Also, tuition is literally $10,000 a year. We’re charged for literally everything we touch.”

International students may be hit the hardest. Benjamin Cadel, from France, lost his job this week at Union Station. Per his visa, he is unable to get an off-campus job. Because of travel bans, he is unable to return home. Losing his on-campus job means he has no income, and as a citizen of France, he doesn’t qualify for unemployment benefits, or that $1,000 check the U.S. government is considering sending out to citizens.

“Today I don’t have this job, can’t pay my bills, my mother and sister lost their jobs in France, and I’m unable to go back to my country for an unknown period of time,” Cadel said. “Today, I don’t know what to do.”

“The school basically hung us up to dry,” said Espinosa-Byrd. “I’m angry, frustrated and just overall scared thinking about my future plans.”

Ryan Marincic works two campus jobs. She’s a B.O.S.S.driver and a campus ambassador for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. She relies on both paychecks to pay her living and medical expenses.

“I’m initially hurt by the fact that our school has shown no remorse or given us newly unemployed, full-time students any resources to get through the next month,” said Marincic. “They also get to decide which positions are deemed ‘essential’ to campus function.”

“I’m astounded that a university that is constantly preaching about how they care about the well-being of our students hasn’t given us a single resource to help us during this time of financial struggle while also insinuating that a majority of our positions aren’t important to campus function,” she said.

Preston Kuehl also works for B.O.S.S. He’s fortunate enough to be able to do some of his work from home but is still frustrated with the situation. He said the university often says they work in the best interest of their students, yet hundreds of student employees will not be able to afford food or shelter because of the circumstances and may have to potentially leave the university.

Ellen Smith is a UWM student employee for University Recreation. Her father lost his job in December, and her mother, a librarian, is the sole provider for their family of five.

“I work so my parents don’t have to worry about my college finances,” Smith said. “I am greatly impacted by this situation because I rely on my job to pay bills. If we had PTO, there wouldn’t be as much stress during this already overwhelming time.”

Alyssa Josephs works at the Grind, UWM’s coffee shop. She and 91 other Grind employees are now out of a job. 

“I can’t get another job because I have plans for after graduation,” Josephs said. She graduates in May. “I doubt they’ll hire me for two months knowing I’m leaving soon.”

Sarai Tenorio works through UWM’s Community Leaders Internship Program. She’s been given the option to work in person, work from home or take a longer break.

“It’s f***** up that all this is going on, and all these people are now unemployed and not getting paid, and yet UWM is still like ‘Hey, you need to finish paying your tuition,’” Tenorio said. “Regardless of status, we are still employees and should be treated the same.”

Eddie Garcia works at the Union Rec Center. On March 10, he and his co-workers were told the facility would be closed through the extended spring break and would reopen March 30. On March 12, they were told they would be closed until April 12. While juggling classes, Garcia was forced to make quick decisions.

“I had to go back to my mom’s house to save money, but both my parents are much older and could be compromised because they have weaker immune systems,” he said.

Garcia chose what he believed is best for his at-risk parents and returned to his duplex near campus. He plans on using whatever cash he has left to pay rent for next month, but after that, he doesn’t know what he’s going to do.

Logan Furuta also works at the Union Rec Center. Like many UWM student employees, he relies on his paychecks for groceries, rent and bills.

“On one hand, yes, many student employees only work a few hours at non-essential places like myself, but there are way too many employees that work to keep the campus essentially running to be ignored,” Furuta said. “Imagine a normal day on campus with no student employees showing up to work. Probably would be rough, right?”

UWM’s spokesperson Michelle Johnson released a statement today, shortly after Chancellor Mone sent out a message stating that he and others have been talking to the UW System about extending the COVID-19 Leave Policy to student workers.

“We know that this is a difficult time for students, and particularly so because the situation is changing so rapidly,” said Johnson. “The chancellor and other campus leaders have been advocating for students with UW System, and where we have discretion as a campus, we’re carefully considering the impact of our decisions to try to mitigate the disruption the pandemic is causing.”

She suggested students turn to the FAQ on unemployment benefits for student workers page on UWM’s website. Johnson said the Office of Development is working on raising money for an emergency fund for students as well. ‘

Students have created a petition promoting paid leave for UWM student employees. As of Wednesday night, it has over 1,000 signatures.

The UWM Post reached out to UW System’s Director of Media Relations Mark Pitsch, but the UW System has not offered a response.