According to National Center for Education Statistics data, faculty wages in higher education have barely kept up with cost-of-living increases over the last several years. For support staff who work at the nation's colleges and universities, the situation is even bleaker. Wages are flat and, in some cases, have actually declined when accounting for inflation. That's why the National Education Association (NEA), in its national salary initiative, is pushing for an "appropriate living wage" as starting pay for all higher ed and K-12 support staff. It won't be easy--grassroots research, organizing, and mobilizing never is--but the time is overdue for staff to say, "We're worth it." The Associated clerical, office, laboratory, and technical unit (COLT) Staff of the Universities of Maine (ACSUM) is the bargaining agent for the University of Maine System. To better understand conditions faced by its members, ACSUM conducted two surveys, the first in 2002 and the second in 2005. This article examines the results of the latter survey. The dire economic situation of higher education staff in Maine will look familiar to staff working at higher education institutions across the nation.