Duke University has raised its lowest wage to $20 an hour for eligible employees. The increase, effective July 1, follows months of pressure from a community coalition, which argues the move is not enough to address Durham’s high cost of living.
The wage hike applies to more than 4,000 Duke University and Duke University Health System employees, including those working full time on campus. Duke also said about 9,000 longer-tenured employees earning around the new minimum would receive adjustments.
Earl Bradley, a former Duke housekeeper and worker leader with the Union of Southern Service Workers (USSW), highlighted the financial strain workers face. “My rent went from $716 to $1,300,” Bradley said at a recent rally. Duke is the largest employer in Durham and the state’s second-largest private employer.
Durham Rising Coalition Pushes for More
The coalition behind the push, Durham Rising, includes the USSW, the Duke Graduate Students Union, the Durham Association of Educators, and UE Local 150. While members welcomed the raise, they have not ended their campaign. The group is calling for a $25-an-hour minimum wage, defined by MIT as a livable wage for Durham County.
The coalition’s demands go beyond higher wages. They are also calling for more investment in affordable housing, local jobs, and protections for students, faculty, and workers amid federal funding cuts and other threats. Durham Rising uses worker stories to show the gap between housing costs and Duke’s pay.
Activists point to Duke’s finances as evidence that more is possible. Neal Triplett, president and CEO of DUMAC, the university’s investment manager, received about $5.02 million in total compensation in Duke’s fiscal 2025 filing, the most of any employee listed.
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In response, Duke cited its HomeGrown initiative, an “enterprise-wide effort to focus more than $200 million over three years” on economic opportunity for Durham and Triangle residents. The program focuses on employment pathways, construction, local business partnerships, and affordable housing.
Christy Patterson, vice president of the Durham Association of Educators, acknowledged these efforts but said they fall short. “Duke has given money into the community. However, it is pennies compared to what they’re bringing in profit-wise as a nonprofit,” she said. For Patterson, the disconnect is also reflected in Duke’s governing board, which lists President Vincent E. Price as the only trustee living in Durham. Most trustees live outside North Carolina.
Modeling Campaigns on Past Wins
The Durham campaign draws inspiration from similar efforts in other cities. Patterson pointed to New Haven, Connecticut, where organizers won commitments from Yale University to hire 1,000 local residents. Yale also agreed to a six-year package including about $135.4 million in voluntary payments to the city.
Coalition members stress the need for Duke’s contribution to match its wealth. At a recent gathering, they read shared principles stating, “The scale of Duke’s contribution to our communities must match the scale of its wealth.” The coalition is also researching Durham’s economic inequality to strengthen its case.
A recent report from the Institute for Southern Studies found that a full-time worker in Durham must earn at least $32.50 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom rental without spending more than 30% of their income on housing. The report also noted that among Duke employees making less than $24 an hour, 66 percent reported difficulty paying rent or mortgage.
Nah’Shon Blount, a USSW organizer and Duke housekeeper, called the $20-an-hour raise a start but not enough. He said he barely noticed the increase in his take-home pay from his early morning cleaning shift. Blount contrasted his pay with Duke’s finances. The university’s endowment totaled $12.3 billion as of June 30, 2025, and its health system reported over $7 billion in revenue that year.
The tax-exempt status of Duke and its health system also plays a role in the coalition’s demands. A 2024 report estimated Duke’s property holdings at $787 million and calculated that if taxes were applied to all its property, the bill would likely be between $11 million and $50 million, far more than the $2 million it paid on non-exempt property.
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Blount remains motivated by this disparity. “We’re not going anywhere,” he says. “Because at the end of the day, if you didn’t have us workers, you wouldn’t have this school’s reputation.”
Broader Economic Impact on Durham
Research from the Institute for Southern Studies highlights the economic strain on Durham’s workforce. The median gross rent rose from $877 in 2014 to $1,415 in 2023. This increase is 25 percent after inflation. Over the same period, the median wage for Black workers showed little real growth.
Durham Rising’s Origins and Expansion
Durham Rising launched in May 2025, building on earlier efforts by Duke Respect Durham. That coalition included about 30 community groups advocating for land and tax policies to support public schools, city workers, affordable housing, and other public services.
Duke Respect Durham had called on Duke to make $50 million a year in voluntary payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOTs. These agreements allow tax-exempt institutions to compensate local governments for property-tax revenue and public-service costs. Durham Rising expanded these demands to include education, job training, fair housing, more jobs, and transportation investment.
The coalition also took its campaign into the 2025 municipal election. At an August 28 candidate forum, it invited mayoral and City Council candidates to endorse its demands. The forum produced mixed results: Mayor Leonardo Williams won reelection without attending, while two of three incumbent councilors lost. Matt Kopac, who supported PILOTs, won a council seat.
Community Pressure and Future Goals
Matt Kopac, a new council member, supported PILOT payments at the forum. Shanetta Burris, the other new councilor, did not commit to the proposal. The coalition plans to keep applying pressure, citing its role in securing the wage increase. “The $20 an hour is just an example of the persistence and resilience of this coalition because they felt the pressure,” said Christy Patterson.
