Short Changed: custodial leadership frustrated with lingering pay issues

Southern University is filled with individuals who receive constant praise and accolades for their contributions to the Jaguar Nation, but it is the sacrifice of its overworked and underpaid custodial staff that allows SU to continue its legacy. Custodian 2 Supervisor, Charlene Spears, has been employed by Southern University for the past 18 years. As one of 15 Southern University custodians she is tasked with the burden of cleaning and maintaining one of the largest historically black universities in the nation. As a 57-year-old heart patient, Spears spoke of how being understaffed affects her daily.
“People don’t care or have any consideration for us,” said Spears.
Having attended a number of board meetings, Spears states that the cries of the custodial
staff have fallen on deaf ears.
“We been looked over for too long. Somebody is not listening. Somebody’s not paying
attention,” said Spears.
Currently, the custodial staff is suffering from a shortage of workers like never before. As recently as 2001, Southern University employed at least 73 custodians but that number has
been drastically reduced in the last 8 years due in part by Louisiana’s budget woes that were created under former Governor Bobby Jindal’s leadership.
Director of the Physical Plant, Henry L. Thurman III, says that the shortage is a result of low wages and other universities offering better pay to custodians. The current pay to any newly hired custodian is $7.25 and stands as one of many contributing reasons that custodians are seeking work elsewhere. By comparison, Louisiana State University pays its custodians .30 cents to $1.00 more and has a starting pay of $8.25. Thurman says that to combat the high turnover rate, he and Vice President for Human Resources, Lester Pourciau are working very closely to try and raise the wage custodians get paid. When asked whether or not custodians could possibly see a raise to ten dollars, Pourciau dismissed the suggestion, noting that neither he nor Thurman know what the magic number will be. “As soon as there are funds available, hopefully next year, these issues will be
addressed,” said Pourciau, “ believe me I understand their plights and struggles.”
Custodian Supervisor 1, Jesse Williams, has been employed with the University for ten years and only earns eight dollars per hour.
“If you want people to come to work they gotta have an incentive. 7.25 for the work that you want done is not an incentive,” said Williams.
Williams stressed that raising the minimum wage starting pay rate, would attract more workers.
“We’d be willing to give our raise up to make it better for the other people to come into work,” Spears added “Give us the help we need because we not gon’ see no raises, we already know this.”
Currently, there are 15 people responsible for the cleaning of 46 buildings during the day. On the night shift, there are only 7 custodians Custodian Supervisor 3, Nikita Selvage has been employed with the University for 23 years and speaks of how her workload has become a struggle due to the lack of employees.
“We can’t supervise because we work. Everybody works, day and night. Ain’t no such thing as a supervisor,” said Selvage.
Selvage arrives on campus at around 5 AM everyday and briskly begins her journey to TT Allain. She speaks of how she has to open the building, pull its trash and try her best to clean up before having to rush to the J.S. Clark Administration Building and open it for the day. After opening and the cleaning the administration building, she must then hurry back to TT Allain to finish cleaning.
Checking on other custodians to make sure they have completed assigned tasks at a satisfactory
performance level is not a part of Selvage’s daily routine anymore, there is simply no time to do
so. The custodial staff replied that they choose to remain employed by the because of the love they have for Southern University. Selvages commitment to the university goes back over three generations as both her mother and grandmother worked for the university. The staff seeks empathy, compassion and understanding from the Jaguar Nation.
“This problem not gon be solved until that glass house back there raise that pay,” Williams said, referring to the J.S. Clark Administration Building. “If that don’t happen, they gon always have this problem”.