70 Percent of UC Clerical Workers Struggle with Hunger: Study

LOS ANGELES, CA - Seven in 10 University of California workers in clerical, administrative and support services struggle to put adequate food on the table, it was reported this week.

The finding comes from a new Occidental College study released Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The study found that 45 percent of 2,890 employees surveyed throughout the 10-campus UC system went hungry at times, and an additional 25 percent had to reduce the quality of their diet, The Times reported. The problems persisted even though most of those surveyed were full-time employees with college degrees and average earnings of $22 an hour.

Peter Dreier, an Occidental professor of politics who conducted the study with two colleagues and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 2010, told The Times the results were startling.

"This is a systemwide problem; it exists on every campus," Dreier said. “This is not a handful of people who happen to be down on their luck. They need a living wage so they can afford to feed their families.

The study was done at the behest of the Teamsters union, who is in negotiations with the University of California since April over a contract that is set to expire in November. The union represents roughly 14,000 clerical and administrative support workers at the UC system's 10 campuses and five medical centers.

"Workers at the University of California should be able to do their job without worrying about where their next meal is coming from," Jason Rabinowitz, secretary treasurer of Teamsters Local 2010, said in a statement.

"It's clear that the UC has failed its workers, its students and all of California. It's time for the UC to pay workers enough to eat."

A university spokeswoman said that while they can't "comment on the specifics of a union-commissioned report we have not examined," Teamsters workers are currently making $43,600 on average and enjoy a "heavily subsidized" health care package, overtime pay and a pension program.

The food problems among UC workers were even higher than those found among students in a separate university study in June, according to The Times. The survey of nearly 9,000 UC students found that 42 percent did not have a consistent source of high-quality, nutritious food.

The study by Occidental College’s Urban and Environmental Policy Institute also found:

• About 9 in 10 single-parent households reported food insecurity.
• Food insecurity rates were higher among women (71.3 percent) than men (65.8 percent).
• About 8 of 10 African Americans and Latinos, and 6 of 10 whites and Asians struggled with food insecurity.
• Nearly 70 percent had difficulty concentrating on work at times because of hunger.
• About 80 percent had to choose between buying food and paying rent or utilities.

-- City News Service and Bay City News, photo via Wiki Commons