In a Time When Caring More is Vital, the UW System Chose to Care Less

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

On March 16, Andres Valdez went to work for University Recreation at the Klotsche. Little did he know, it would be the last day he would be employed indefinitely. 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 message was sent out that read, “University Recreation will close at 7 pm today.”

Earlier that afternoon, Chancellor Mark Mone sent out an email addressed to faculty and staff. He said 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.

“Student Hourly staff, and UW-Madison employees are not included in this policy.”

UW System Interim: COVID-19 Leave Policy

“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. Other 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 down 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 no longer 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. However, no one answered the phone in the Dean of Students office and did not return emails to the UWM Post or student employees seeking help.

Amber Smith is the Union Station Student Administrator. She’s upset 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 and part-time and full-time student employees are not.

“They have never looked out for student workers,” said Amber 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.”

“They cannot act like they don’t have the money to help us.”

Amber Smith

International students are hit the hardest. Benjamin Cadel, an international student from France, lost his job this week at the Union Station. He was promoted to lead in the fall semester. 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 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. Even if American citizens are going to be helped by the country…

…I’m not an American and will not be helped.”

Benjamin Cadel

Markeisha Thomas also works at the Union Station. She said college students are at the bottom of the food chain yet receive the least amount of help from the UW System, even after forking out thousands of dollars for tuition.

Adiyna Espinosa-Byrd’s on-campus job at the UWM’s Union Station is her only source of income. Like many students, she lives paycheck to paycheck.

“If it wasn’t for us, there wouldn’t be a functioning school!”

Adiyna Espinosa-Byrd

“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 Ryan 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,” said Marincic.

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 agreed with Marincic and said the university often says they work in the best interest of their students, yet hundreds if not thousands 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 dad lost his job in December, and her mom, 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. Her and 91 other Grind student employees are now out of a job. As of March 12, the Grind was offering hours over spring break.

“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 fucked 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 they 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 had to make decisions quickly.

“A lot of us live paycheck to paycheck, and we can’t afford to lose work like this.”

Eddie Garcia

“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,” said Garcia.

Garcia chose what he believed is best for the well-being of 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.

“Student hourly workers are not covered under the new leave policy because they are not covered under the existing leave policy,” UW System’s Director of Media Relations Mark Pitsch said.

Students have created a petition promoting paid leave for UWM student employees. As of March 25, it had over 1,600 signatures.