When Henry Sowell clocks in to work a 5 a.m. shift at a University of Missouri-Kansas City campus recreation center, his pay rate flashes across a screen.
It’s a regular reminder that he makes less than $11 an hour — much less than Missouri’s minimum wage.
That minimum wage is now $13.75, up from $12.30 per hour after voters approved Proposition A in November. By 2026, barring successful legal challenges or changes from the legislature, the legal minimum will hit $15 an hour.
But not everyone has to comply with the new minimum wage. Public employers, including public colleges and universities, are exempt from the change in state law. Federal law also allows colleges and universities to pay students less than minimum wage under certain conditions.
UMKC has used one or more of those exemptions to set some student pay below state minimum wage. The university declined an interview because its director of human resources was not available and did not provide information over email by the time of publication.
Some graduate students, like those on assistantships, can make $20 an hour or more plus free tuition. But with restrictions on the number of hours they can be paid, some say that’s not a living wage either.
The situation can be especially tough for international students, who face required health insurance fees and visa rules that often restrict them to on-campus jobs, student advocates say.
So a group of students calling themselves University of Missouri Students and Workers United is pushing for a $25 minimum wage and the elimination of health care fees.
Along with national group Workers Strike Back, they’re circulating a petition with several demands and talking with students about their financial hardships.
Sowell, a junior studying political science, said he’s lucky. He lives with his parents, who cover most of his expenses. His pay — sometimes around $80 a week — covers gas money and occasional lunches. But he doesn’t think he should be the exception to the rule.
“I’m not going hungry and having my brain, my stamina, drained,” he said. Pursuing better pay for all students is “making sure everyone has a more equal playing field to pursue education.”
How much students make
In his role as president of the Graduate Student Council at UMKC, Kiel Corkran hears that student pay is a major concern.
He’s experienced it himself as a master’s and now Ph.D. student with a baby at home.
Before switching to his current grant-funded research role, which pays more, he was making about $1,800 a month after taxes as part of a graduate assistantship which also granted him free tuition.
That just about covered his car payment and rent, with nothing left over. Luckily, his wife’s job helped cover the family’s other expenses.
“Besides my adviser, I don’t think anybody else cared,” he said.
Corkran said he didn’t want to ask the Graduate Student Council to spearhead a movement for higher student pay because not all graduate students work on campus.
So he partnered with Workers Strike Back — an independent workers’ movement.
Together, they’ve been visiting various shifts at places like the recreation center and library, asking students to sign their petition and talking with them about campus jobs, pay rates and financial woes.
Matthew Meloy, a member of Workers Strike Back who’s been volunteering to help students organize on campus, said more than 100 people have signed the petition, most of them student workers. About 10 students are actively involved, attending meetings or helping with tabling.
“I can’t recall a student that we talked to that’s been like, ‘No, this is not something I want,” Meloy said. Students have talked about working three jobs, struggling to pay rent or having to choose between housing and groceries.
They’ve also disclosed pay ranging from $9 to $13 an hour for undergraduates, Meloy said.
He said graduate students, who typically get paid more per hour, might make $2,000 or $2,200 monthly.
At the time of publication, UMKC had not responded to questions about the full range of pay for student positions.
A UMKC human resources guide to hiring students says maximum pay for student roles is $10.50 per hour, but it’s not clear whether that information is current.
A web page devoted to library jobs available to students lists starting wages at $10.50 and $11 an hour for two different libraries with current openings. It also lists a part-time security job making up to $15.50 per hour that is not specifically considered a “student position.”
Sowell said he’s making $10.80 per hour at his recreation center job after a small raise.
Graduate students make more. A page on graduate assistantships says graduate students can be paid hourly at or above Missouri minimum wage or receive a stipend plus tuition remission.
The minimum stipend is $20 per hour, or $14,400 for half-time work over a nine-month school year. That would amount to $1,600 each month, or $1,200 per month if spread across the full year. Pay can only dip below that level if the student receives other compensation not counting tuition remission, such as a housing subsidy.
Elsewhere in Missouri, some colleges have set undergraduate minimum pay higher than UMKC.
When the state minimum wage increased to $13.75 on Jan. 1, the University of Central Missouri made that amount its new student minimum wage.
The University of Missouri-Columbia, which is part of the same four-campus system as UMKC, notes on its website that it doesn’t have to follow Missouri’s minimum wage law, or even pay students above the $7.25 federal minimum wage.
But it says entry-level student workers should receive $12-$15 per hour and students with more responsibility and training receive $13-$16. Those ranges dip below the current minimum wage, but also include amounts above it.
International students
Sowell, the undergrad political science major, said his campus job has some perks.
The role accommodates his class schedule and doesn’t require extra driving. He enjoys interacting with gym users and appreciates the laid-back atmosphere, where he’s less likely to get yelled at than in a food service job.
But if he relied on his income for major living expenses or to pay for school, he’d look elsewhere.
So he’s especially concerned about international students who have no other choice.
International college student visas usually prohibit them from working off-campus, with some exceptions for jobs directly related to their degree or financial hardship caused by severe and unforeseen circumstances — which requires a special application.
International students are also required to pay health insurance fees, almost $2,700 per school year, unless they’re eligible for a waiver. One of the demands in the student workers’ petition is “Free Healthcare for all, eliminate Healthcare Fees & Cancel Student Debt.”
Meloy said an international student told him about working a 13-hour shift for less than minimum wage, and that some seem worried that discussing their wages or unionizing could get them fired or make them lose scholarships. He isn’t sure where those messages are coming from.
While Workers Strike Back encourages unionizing, Meloy said UMKC students aren’t at that point. For now, they’re calling for change and getting students talking about pay on campus.
“There’s a lot of hunger for this,” Meloy said, but he added that the student workers’ group needs to demonstrate that it’s serious, strategic and organized so students believe the movement is worth their limited time.
“Most (student workers) know that they’re severely underpaid and they know that they are essential in their job,” he said. “They just don’t know what to do about it.”
This story was originally published by The Beacon, a fellow member of the KC Media Collective.
Disclosure: KCUR 89.3 is licensed to the University of Missouri Board of Curators and is an editorially independent community service of the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
