by Anna Hampton
Daily Lobo
Some student employees have not received the $1.50-an-hour raise they were promised, said Randy Boeglin, dean of students.
The raise was supposed to come into effect during the Jan. 6 payroll period, according to an e-mail sent to employees near the end of last semester.
The raise would have affected Residence Life employees who receive hourly wages, including desk attendants, security members, mailroom staff and employees in the Hokona Cellar.
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Residence Life sent a letter to students Feb. 6 to let them know the raise had not gone through.
"As you know, the $1.50 increase that was approved by our office has not yet gone through," the letter stated. "We have not yet been notified of the increase. I will notify you as new information becomes available."
Boeglin said he does not know why the raise didn't go through.
The Student Employment Office did not return phone calls Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Monday.
The raise was approved in the budgets of Residence Life and Student
Employment, Boeglin said.
The raise was meant to make campus wages comparable to the city's minimum wage, Boeglin said.
UNM is not required to match Bernalillo County's Minimum Wage Ordinance because it is a state institution. The ordinance raised minimum wage to $6.75 on Jan. 13.
Boeglin said employees were caught by surprise when they got paid without
a raise.
"We didn't hear anything that it would be stopped until students opened their paychecks," Boeglin said. "We regret the misfire. It was our understanding that it would go through."
Boeglin said all the necessary steps had been taken for students to receive a raise.
"We put all the paperwork through," Boeglin said. "It was stopped, and we were not informed that it would be stopped."
Boeglin said Student Employment needs to communicate better with Residence Life.
"I would hope someone would take responsibility for communicating these problems," he said. "It was in our budget to give a pay increase."
Boeglin said Residence Life employees deserve the raise.
"We think the jobs they do are equal to those in the community," he said. "We want people to feel rewarded."
