BRONX TIMES REPORTER, M 50 MAR. 11-17, 2022 BTR
Congressman Jamaal Bowman, state elected offcicials and clergy held a rally Feb. 25 to
announce their support for Fair Pay for Home Care in the state budget. Photo Jason Cohen
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PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER: CEO AND CO-PUBLISHER: Joshua Schneps
BRONX TIMES PUBLISHER: Laura Guerriero
BY JASON COHEN
Being among the lowest paid workers
in the state, averaging just $22,000
annually, lawmakers are pushing to
pass legislation that would provide
what they consider a more respectful
wage for New York home care workers.
Facing the worst home care shortage
in the nation, more than 300 faith leaders
from across the state recently sent a
letter to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul
pleading for the passage of the Fair Pay
for Home Care Act, which would raise
home care wages to at least $35,000 a
year on average. Currently, more than
40% of New York’s home care workers
live in or near poverty due to chronically
low wages — 57% rely on public assistance.
The legislation would wipe out the
home care shortage within fi ve years,
create 200,000 new jobs and pay for itself
by moving workers off of state programs
like food assistance and other
social services, according to study of
the proposal by CUNY. Between 2021
to 2040, New York state is projected to
grow by just 3%, but the 65-and-over
population will grow by 25%, while the
number of adults over age 85 will grow
by 75%.
Over the next 10 years, the Public
Health Institute estimates that home
care, including consumer-directed personal
assistance, should add more new
jobs than any other occupation in the
state. The consulting fi rm Mercer predicts
that despite this rapid growth potential,
the state will face a shortage
of at least 80,000 home care workers by
2025.
“It’s been 13 years of working in an
invisible workforce,” said Sandra Diaz
of the 1199 SEIU Bronx home care workers
union. “It’s time for us to be recognized
and valued because what we do is
essential to the care of the elderly and
the people who can’t take care of themselves.
We are there on a daily basis to
bathe them, feed them and keep them
company.”
Diaz, of the South Bronx, told the
Bronx Times she is sick and tired of being
mistreated. Home care workers currently
make minimum wage, but Diaz
said she wants a $22 an hour wage. They
work long shifts, are on their feet all
day and should be fairly compensated,
she said. Sometimes, Diaz, even takes
on two to three clients a week just to
make ends meet, she said, adding that
many people have left the industry because
of the lack of pay.
According to Stuart Marques, a
spokesman for 1199 SEIU, roughly
140,000 New York state home care workers
left the industry in 2021.
“We’re fi ghting for higher pay; we
can’t go paycheck to paycheck,” said
Diaz, 48. “I’m going to keep fi ghting until
I can’t fi ght anymore.”
The legislation, if passed by the state
Legislature, would set a minimum Medicaid
reimbursement rate for providers,
ensuring that home care agencies’ administrative
costs and home care workers
themselves are properly paid.
Bolstering the case for an increase
in wages is a recent study by the CUNY
School of Labor and Urban Studies and
funded by the state Offi ce for the Aging
that concluded the proposal would
create almost 18,000 new jobs in local
economies through increased spending
capacity of these home care workers.
The state would see increased sales
and income tax collections and savings
from public benefi ts totaling $7.6 billion,
putting it on track to be one of the
most successful economic development
programs in the state’s history, according
to the study.
Progressive U.S Rep. Jamaal Bowman,
whose district includes the Bronx
and portions of Westchester, said the
industry has been neglected for years..
People who risked their lives during
COVID-19 and are on their feet all day
helping sick or disabled people should
not have to live paycheck to paycheck,
he said.
“Governor Hochul, we strongly urge
and strongly encourage you to do the
right thing for the most vulnerable New
Yorkers,” he said. “Home care workers
have the right to a prevailing wage, a
right to have paid leave and a right to
have universal health care.”
Bowman stands with clergy
at ‘Faith for Fair Pay’ rally
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