ASUCLA returns to two-tier wage system to attract student workers

Associated Students UCLA is returning to a two-tiered wage system for food service jobs, increasing wages for certain types of positions to encourage students to take those jobs.

Starting this month, students working in food preparation and busing jobs at ASUCLA-owned and -operated restaurants will receive 50 cents more per hour than students working in cashier positions, said Cindy Bolton, ASUCLA food service director.

A typical, current lower tier wage is around $9.25 an hour while many upper tier jobs pay $9.75, Bolton said.

Bolton added that ASUCLA allocated the increase in wages when the Board of Directors passed its fiscal budget this year. The two-tiered wage system will cost around $30,000 to $40,000 for the remainder of the calendar year.

Students who work at Taco Bell will be affected by the change because ASUCLA operates the restaurant, but students working in other branded, non-ASUCLA operated restaurants, like Panda Express and Subway, will be paid according to their respective corporate wage structures, Bolton said.

She added that wages for food services jobs were divided into two tiers until the beginning of last year.

Bolton said ASUCLA eliminated the two-tier system last year because the management felt they had been receiving enough applicants and did not need the higher wages to attract students for the more difficult jobs. She added that ASUCLA needed extra funds to pay for last year’s increase in minimum wage from $8 to $9 per hour.

But Bolton said ASUCLA found filling many upper-tier positions more difficult after it eliminated the tiered wage system.

“My restaurant managers were telling me we didn’t have enough staff, and service was impacted as a result,” she said. “(Eliminating the system) was a mistake.”

Bolton said she thinks the extra costs from paying the higher wages are worth it.

“When we have more workers, that means we have better service and so we can generate more revenue,” she said.

One ASUCLA employee believes wages should be based on seniority rather than the type of job.

“I don’t think (the two-tier system) should trump people who have been there longer and have more skills,” said Nicole Kelsey, a rising fourth-year sociology student.

Another ASUCLA employee said she is against the difference in wages because she thinks lower-tier jobs are just as difficult as upper-tier jobs.

“I work the cash register but I also have to stock hundreds of items and carry boxes from the dock all the way to store,” said Janae Smith, a rising third-year sociology student.

Bolton said the wages will increase proportionally when the Los Angeles minimum wage comes into effect in January.