When Salary Doesn't Match Impact

A great article from The Journal News in Westchester, describing the work of our DSPs and why they deserve a living wage. However, a state-wide $15 minimum wage must be funded. If you're in the NYC metropolitan area, hope you'll join us for a rally on March 11 outside the Governor's Manhattan office, 633 Third Ave., from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Spread the word.

GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Tracey Cargill-Moore, 39, has worked with the developmentally disabled for a decade. Officially, she's a direct support professional, or a "DSP," as they are called. At social service organizations across the state, they serve as caretakers, helpers, teachers, coaches, cheerleaders, nurses, therapists, mentors, counselors and friends to the disabled people they work with.

It's a job with a lot of responsibility. Although they must retain state certification and receive training in a variety of areas including first aid, CPR, medication administration, abuse identification, prevention and reporting, DSPs are paid less than the average fast food worker.

Opinion: Tackling Minimum Wage

Opinion piece by New York State Assemblymember Clifford Crouch is certainly valid. If there is going to be a $15 minimum wage in the not-for-profit sector, it needs to be funded. You could also contend that higher wages spur spending, which grows the economy. 

One problem with trying to have a discussion on the minimum wage is that most people never get beyond their rightful belief that people deserve to earn more than $7.25 an hour for work (the federal rate). New York’s minimum wage is $9 an hour, and there are now pushes to get that number even higher, to $15 an hour. That assertion is supported in opinion poll after opinion poll that show the majority of New Yorkers, as high as 84 percent, believe that the minimum wage should be higher than it currently is (according to a 2014 Quinnipiac University poll). I can tell you, however, as a representative for the Southern Tier, any hike in the minimum wage would be devastating to our businesses and do significant damage to our already-slow-working economy. What’s good for labor and New York City interests isn’t always good for upstate New York, and I stand firmly behind the idea that growing our economy is the only way to advance the wage, more than anything.

NYS Focuses on Mimimum Wage Hike

ALBANY, N.Y. — Low-wage workers from around New York state gathered at the Capitol on Wednesday to support Gov. Andrew Cuomo's call for a $15-an-hour minimum wage, a proposal that continues to dominate the year's legislative work.Sandra Luke makes $9 as a wheelchair attendant at New York City'sLaGuardia Airport. She said it's barely enough to make ends meet, and forces her to sort her bills into two categories: ones she can pay and ones she must put off.

Opinion: NYS Proposed Minimum Wage Hike Threatens People with IDD & Field

Bravo Laura Kennedy, president of NYSARC, Inc., and Steven Kroll, its executive director, for this op-ed in Albany Times Union.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed $15 minimum wage contains a serious flaw that threatens the financial viability of an entire field of caregivers and the people and families those caregivers support.While the governor has appropriately decided that New York needs to champion the rights of hard-working, low-income wage earners by requiring a higher minimum wage, he has not provided any funding for the many not-for-profit agencies that depend almost completely on the state for their funding. Among the 2.3 million workers who stand to benefit from a minimum wage increase are more than 100,000 workers who provide support 24 hours a day, seven days a week for people with developmental disabilities such as Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism and neurological impairments. No funding is provided for this increase.

NYS $15 Minimum Wage Proposal & Impact on Non Profit Agencies

Not-for-profit agencies and workers are really nervous about the proposed minimum wage increase to $15 an hour.
These are agencies that try to help their communities in some way. They range from hospitals to research labs to social services. And they have a significant role in the North Country economy. An Adirondack Foundation study in 2013 found that 36 non-profits in the North Country generated more than $400 million in economic activity and provided roughly 10 percent of all the jobs in the region.

Opinion: Prevent a Staffing Crisis

Wonderful opinion piece by NYS Assemblyman Jim Tedisco. Should go beyond New York's ARCs, but he knows his constituents. If you're planning or advocating on staff salaries in any state, give it a read.

As we approach the New Year, many of us in state government are turning our thoughts toward next year's state budget and spending priorities. Those spending priorities should begin with protecting our most vulnerable citizens.

Currently, New York's ARCs and those agencies that care for 60,000 developmentally disabled individuals are facing enormous pressure to recruit and retain qualified employees.The 48 community-based ARC nonprofit agencies employ 29,000 workers. Funding for the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities that supports our ARCs has been relatively flat the past few years.

Agencies Wary of $15/Hour Minimum

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s push for a statewide $15 per hour minimum wage faces hurdles in the human services sector. Agencies serving mentally challenged or physically disabled populations are concerned in part about the competition they would face in the labor market. 

“I know my colleagues statewide are going crazy; how do we do this?” said Patrick Dollard, CEO of Center for Discovery in Harris. “The field is concerned because it’s tough to get people in the door now to work with very complex people … A lot of people might rather flip burgers at McDonald’s. The work we demand from people is so much more intense.”

Wages Tricky for Workers with Disabilities

Such a touchy issue. On one hand, some companies provide opportunities to train people with disabilities on the job, while providing them with a paycheck, which yes, may be below minimum wage. If they didn't have this, chances are they might not be working at all. On the other side, however, it does appear that this is so unfair to people with disabilities who can and are reliable, hard working and productive employees.

BUCYRUS, Ohio -- Wages are wide-ranging for disabled workers in Crawford County.
Recent reports show thousands of adult workers with developmental disabilities in Ohio are paid less than minimum wage. The Columbus Dispatch reports 14,600 disabled Ohioans are affected by a federal law provision that allows employers to pay less than minimum wage to adults with disabilities that limit productivity.
Critics of the lower wages paid to disabled workers say it is taking advantage of them, while supporters say it provides more opportunities for them to have jobs.

Debating Federal Wage Law: Many Working for Less Than Minimum Wage

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Thousands of adults with Down syndrome, autism and other developmental disabilities work in Ohio at jobs that pay less money than a teen-age baby sitter earns.
Some clean hotel rooms for 40 cents an hour. Others sew table linens for 79 cents an hour. Some assemble automotive parts for $2.15 an hour or answer telephones for $3.75 an hour.
The majority don't earn half of the state minimum wage of $7.40.
A little-known provision in the 73-year-old federal wage law allows employers to pay less than minimum wage if adults have disabilities that limit their productivity.