Presidential hopeful and former Senator John Edwards expressed support for the Vanderbilt living wage campaign to Chancellor Gordon Gee in a letter dated Feb. 12.

The Edwards letter arrives at a time when the living wage campaign is set to pick up momentum. Actor Danny Glover and the Laborer's International Union General President Terry O'Sullivan are set to participate in a series of events concerning Vanderbilt's living wage campaign on Tuesday.

"Next week is sort of a culmination of this whole process with everything," said Beau Worsham, the union representative in Vanderbilt's negotiations. "It's designed to be a high-profile town meeting sort of event."

Among other events scheduled for this week, the union will hold a town hall meeting at the Wightman Chapel at the Scarritt-Bennett Center.

Worsham said he expects to fill the 300-seat chapel. Vanderbilt spokesman Michael Schoenfeld said the Edwards letter looked "interesting" but that it did not change the fact that Vanderbilt currently provides a comprehensive compensation package to all employees.

"It's obvious that the union and activist groups have targeted Vanderbilt for attention," Schoenfeld said. "It's not surprising that a political candidate would speak out about this, but it does not change the facts of the situation or Vanderbilt's position."

Kate Bedingfield, a spokeswoman for Edwards' campaign, confirmed the letter's authenticity Sunday. Gee then issued a response, even though, according to Schoenfeld, Gee had not received a letter from Edwards by the close of business Friday.

"It's an issue that (Edwards) has been involved with very heavily and something that he feels very strongly about," Bedingfield said. "He's always been a local advocate of workers' rights and workers' issues and a supporter of the living wage initiative."

The Vanderbilt Hustler received the letter from an anonymous source.

"Since the chancellor receives a huge amount of correspondence about many issues from people all over the world, we wouldn't normally confirm the authenticity of any single letter," Schoenfeld said. "It is not uncommon for political candidates and advocacy groups to send copies of their correspondence to the news media before it ever gets to the intended recipient as a way to generate news coverage, so I imagine that was the case with this letter."

In his letter, the former senator pointed out that other universities, including Harvard, Georgetown and Yale, had established a living wage on their campus within the last few years.

"I understand that Vanderbilt employees, students, religious leaders, labor leaders and community residents have joined together to take up this cause of simple fairness," Edwards wrote. "I support their efforts, and I hope you will join us."

In response, Gee wrote a four-point letter addressed to Edwards.

"While we are optimistic that Vanderbilt and the union will eventually reach a mutually agreeable position, I do want to be clear about several important points that, unfortunately, have been either ignored or distorted in the rhetoric that has been generated around the issue," Gee wrote.

In the letter, Gee wrote that Vanderbilt offers the most comprehensive benefits package in the region. He also said comparisons to other institutions that have experienced similar protests are "not particularly valid."

"In almost all of those cases, maintenance and service staff were actually employed by contractors and thus are not employees of the university, receiving none of the benefits and protections that come with full-time permanent employment," Gee wrote.

The university is currently in negotiations with a local union representing 600 of its lowest-paid workers. The union turned down an offer made by Vanderbilt in mid-December that would have increased the base wage to $10 per hour within a year.

Both sides have agreed to enter into a nonbinding mediation with a federal negotiator, which will begin Feb. 26.