When Paw Pha, an immigrant from Myanmar, came to Cornell in 2006, his English and his computer skills were limited. But one day, Pha, a library collections assistant at the University, stumbled upon a newspaper ad for Cornell’s Community Learning and Service Partnership program. Now a member of the program for six years, Pha said CLASP has helped him achieve half of his learning goals.

President David Skorton’s message to the community after a string of student suicides in 2010 — “If you learn anything at Cornell, please learn to ask for help” — has resonated among employees on campus through the University’s Faculty and Staff Assistance Program, which has recently gained visibility.

After analyzing the results of the 2011 Cornell-wide employee survey, University administrators said that they are concerned that cuts are overburdening staff with increased workloads.

As a Cornell Dining worker and a UAW Local 2300 steward, I witness the economic difficulties that Cornell employees endure every day, every year. Local 2300 is the union of Cornell dining, janitorial, maintenance and grounds workers. We clean your dorms, cook your food, keep your classrooms functioning and maintain the quads and sidewalks. We are an integral part of the University, working hard every day to ensure Cornell can operate. Yet many of us don’t earn a living wage and cannot keep ourselves and our families out of poverty.