Living the Creed is an organization formed by students to help students with the desire to truly live by the Auburn Creed come together, said Anna Phasavath, member and junior in global studies and human sciences.
The goal, Phasavath said, is to ensure that University employees are guaranteed a “living wage,” or a wage that would allow them to live without government assistance.
“The purpose of Living the Creed is to create a forum for Auburn students, faculty and staff to explore the true meaning of the Auburn Creed and ensure that as a community we are embodying and fulfilling the Creed’s words,” Phasavath said.
Auburn employees are very much a part of the Auburn Family, according to Phasavath.
“Auburn has a number of full-time employees and contracted employees who do not make a living wage,” Phasavath said. “We believe that, as vital components of the Auburn Family, these employees deserve fair wages for the labor they perform for Auburn University and the students.”
“Previous members of the organization calculated that 162 full-time employees do not even make poverty wages, meaning that the University fails to provide an annual salary amounting to enough money to place these employees above the federal poverty line for Lee County, Alabama.” Phasavath said.
Estimated calculations for a family of four in Lee County prove 435 full-time employees don’t make a living wage.
Living the Creed’s aims to reach the student body and get their message out, according to Phasavath.
“Through this, we are trying to educate the student body by advocating on the concourse, holding informational events and releasing a PR video,” Phasavath said. “We have also held interviews with current Auburn University students and faculty, asking questions on what it means to be inclusive of those in the Auburn Family.”
Phasavath said as vital members to the Auburn Family, employees should be protected by the beliefs set forth in the Creed.
“Individuals who dedicate their time to better the University should be able to support their family without government or private assistance,” Phasavath said.
Michael Magan, 2013 Auburn graduate and former president of the Young Americans for Liberty, said he doesn’t agree with Living the Creed’s message.
According to Magan, raising minimum wage would reduce total employment, leads to discrimination and it is not a “well-meaning” piece of legislation.
“The reality is that there are many other ways that we could improve wage inequalities that may actually work; Improving education might be the most obvious one,” Magan said. “However, what might better serve those Americans working for the minimum wage might be subsidizing more training, helping them move from being unskilled or low-skilled workers to higher skilled jobs.”
Phasavath said these employees work at least 40 hours a week and deserve to be rewarded for their commitment.
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