Over the past three years, minimum wage has increased. July 2009 marked the third and final increase. At Texas A&M University-Commerce the response to the increase has been a positive one.
Most departments on campus hire student workers. Examples include, but are not limited to: the Sam Rayburn Student Center, Morris Recreation Center, Admissions and the Alumni Center. These departments are given a budget to cover all necessities needed for the year, including the pay of their student workers.
“Adjustments had to be made to our budgets to address this increase,” Vice-President for Student Access and Success Dr. Mary W. Hendrix said. “However, most of the student worker costs are tied to federal work study programs.”
First introduced in 1938, the Minimum Wage Act has gradually grown in scope to cover more American workers. On Oct. 24, 1938 the minimum wage was 25 cents and has been increasing ever since.
“I feel that the increase is necessary, because we’re only allowed a maximum of 19 hours a week,” student worker for the Sam Rayburn Student Center, Morgan Drew said. “So the increase in pay actually helps.”
The Sam Rayburn Student Center is the newest building on campus, and, with a rather large budget, they had already planned in advance for the minimum wage increases.
“We pre-planned for the increases because we knew it was going up and we worked it into the planned budget,” Administrative Assistant Nancy Tarrant said. “Planning ahead kept us from having to scurry around trying to come up with the extra money.”
With the struggling economy and the general hardships some college students have always faced, every little bit of extra money helps.
“I believe the increase is a positive thing,” Hendrix said. “With these difficult economic times, our students need financial assistance to continue their education.”