CLAP -- Catholic Social Teaching in Action We at Notre Dame proclaim ourselves to be a family- and while our university recognizes the dignity of students, faculty, and alumni- non-professional staff are left out of this network of concern. Through hundreds of conversations with workers Campus Labor Action Project has observed: Notre Dame’s wages do not allow workers and their families the ability to thrive. The Campus Labor Action Project calculates a living wage be set at $15.91 for a full-time employment comprised of 2000 hours per year, and $15.30 for a full-time employment of 2080 hours per year. Currently Notre Dame service workers make anywhere between $8.12 to $14.48 per hour. Only the most senior employees come close to living in dignity at ND. Workers have no voice in the Notre Dame family. There is no representative body for worker concerns that staff recognize as legitimate. Available campus child-care is out of reach for non-professional staff. A Lafortune Student Center staff member lamented how she’d need a second job to afford child care on campus. Workers have been stripped of taking pride in their work due to understaffing. Lack of supplies and staff crew cuts stretch and strain remaining staff members. A library custodian told CLAP that as he leaves the night shift- which has gone down from 18 people to 10, he can no longer marvel at shiny floors because he must always cover his section and another person’s- never being able to put the same quality into the work. Is it Catholic to not pay livable wages to all staff? Is it Catholic to not recognize workers as vital members of our ND Family? Is it Catholic to ignore these problems and not act? Campus Labor Action Project urges every member of the Notre Dame to take action to see a Living Wage policy implemented this year, making sure all ND employees live and work in dignity. They are the heart of the university- keeping her beautiful and making her run. Catholic teaching on workers rights runs through our vein. We know Notre Dame can be, as our founder Fr Sorin said, a force for good in the world. To be that force, we must start at the most immediate level and implement a living wage. Stand with Campus Labor Action Project this year to ask University President Rev John J Jenkins to develop with our coalition a living wage policy.