NASHVILLE (AP) - The union representing workers at Vanderbilt University says the base pay for workers is now above the poverty line.

Vanderbilt is Middle Tennessee's largest private employer. Wages for its lowest-paid workers have steadily increased since unions and social justice groups started pressuring the school five years ago. Last week, starting pay moved up to nearly $11 an hour, according to WPLN-FM (http://bit.ly/uFibLB ). That works out to just above $23,000 a year.

Nearly three dozen universities had campus-wide pushes for higher pay going simultaneously. But Vanderbilt attracted national attention, primarily because it's chancellor at the time was one of the highest paid in the country, with $1.2 million in compensation.

Vanderbilt said in a statement that wages are competitive and fair and that the university provides health coverage and retirement.