Contact Information:
Office of the Senior Vice President
200 Healy Hall
Box 571421
37th & O Streets, NW
Washington, DC 20057
Phone: (202) 687-3730
Fax: (202) 687-9109

Path: Main / Committees / Advisory Committee on Business Practices /

Georgetown's Approach to Contractor Wages

"Active work on the important issues regarding wages for contract employees at Georgetown has required financial analysis and community dialogue, which we've engaged in for more than two years. The University has taken some well-considered, financially responsible steps, and is committed to continuing to evaluate and discuss this issue with members of our community."

-- Senior Vice President Spiros Dimolitsas, PhD

Georgetown University's approach to contractor wages includes the following:

A Commitment to fair worker compensation.

Georgetown presently (FY 2005) pays all fulltime contract employees (i.e., food service, facilities and security) a total compensation package of at least $11.33 per hour *. This includes an hourly salary as well as a benefits package, which varies among the University's contractors. Georgetown University requires all contractors to offer employees access to an affordable, high quality health care plan as part of their benefits package.

A Commitment to ongoing dialogue and action to address worker compensation.

In 2002 (FY2003) Georgetown established a policy to ensure that all University employees receive a total compensation package now equal to a minimum of $13.42 per hour. Demonstrating the need to address this issue on an ongoing basis, by July 2005 the minimum total compensation for all full time Georgetown employees will be $14.08 per hour.

In early 2003, President DeGioia invited students to work with an ad hoc group chaired by Senior Vice President Spiros Dimolitsas, Ph.D. and Vice President for Public Affairs and Strategic Development Daniel Porterfield, Ph.D., to help develop new strategies relating to employee compensation. The group's work resulted in today's current compensation levels for contract employees.

In the spring of 2004, the University established a formal Advisory Committee on Business Practices, under the leadership of Senior Vice President Spiros Dimolitsas, for the purpose of continually assessing and addressing compensation issues of contract employees. This group is comprised of representatives including unionized employees, contract employees, the Jesuit community, and faculty, administrators and students. This committee is currently evaluating proposals to further increase contract employee compensation levels with the goal of making recommendations that can be implemented by July 1, 2005. The committee is also developing a framework to ensure ongoing University analysis of this issue.

A Commitment to thoughtful response to proposals for increasing worker compensation.

As a Catholic and Jesuit institution committed to social justice throughout the world, the University respects students and others who raise the issue of fair worker compensation in our community. Georgetown is committed to seriously engaging this issue through the work of the Advisory Committee on Business Practices, which will necessarily take into account a variety of factors including the financial costs to the University, which projects an operating deficit of $24 million for FY2005, and other University-wide implications such as union negotiations and contracts, wage compression, reduction in services, and layoffs. The Committee also evaluates proposals in the context of existing wage ordinances in the District of Columbia metro region. To date, Georgetown’s work has provided contract employees with total compensation packages comparable to if not greater than local wage ordinances in the metro area even though as a non-profit institution in the District of Columbia it is not subject to any of them.