UC's plan for a $15 minimum wage sparks debate over working conditions

Maria Carmen Sandoval worked for a series of custodial contractors at UC Irvine from 1997 until 2012. Since becoming a full-time employee of the university in 2012, she and her husband have seen their pay jump from $10 an hour to $16.49 an hour. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)Michael Del Rio has worked for nearly three years as a custodian at UC San Diego's Thornton Hospital, reporting to the same bosses, working with the same colleagues and cleaning the same facilities.

But he has led two lives. At first Del Rio worked for HireCare, a UC San Diego subcontractor. He earned $13.75 an hour with no benefits, and he had to work holidays and weekends — missing out on one of his son's…