Once I was a toddler, my household lived on the sting of homelessness. My 5 siblings and I’d go to high school with black trash luggage filled with our garments in case we have been evicted from our house. I’m mayor of the Metropolis of New York right now as a result of human companies employees have been there to assist my household once we wanted it most. Standing up for these employees as their mayor is not only an expert concern for me; it’s private, too.
Nevertheless it wasn’t simply my household. Human companies employees have been there for all of us in the course of the pandemic. When so many have been in isolation, they have been endangering their well being as they labored with New Yorkers in want. Right now, they’re serving to our neighbors get psychological well being care, connecting our homeless brothers and sisters with housing, working group facilities throughout the 5 boroughs, caring for asylum seekers, and a lot extra.
This work is 24/7. It may be thankless, and it’s typically mentally and bodily exhausting, however it’s completely important. It’s no exaggeration to say that these women and men are the arms and hearts of New York Metropolis. We owe them every thing.
Once we got here into workplace two years in the past, we had a mission: shield public security, rebuild our economic system, and make this metropolis extra livable for on a regular basis New Yorkers. However for too lengthy, the pay of our human companies employees has not even saved up with the rising price of residing. Final week, we modified that by as soon as once more delivering on our imaginative and prescient to make this metropolis extra livable and placing a refund into the pockets of those working-class New Yorkers.
We introduced that our administration will probably be investing $741 million to ship honest wages for the greater than 80,000 nonprofit staff working inside this metropolis — lastly giving our human companies employees the pay elevate they’ve earned. It will quantity to a 9.27 p.c pay enhance over the subsequent three years. This was a day one precedence of our administration, and it will raise up a workforce that’s majority ladies and girls of shade.
In case you dedicate your life to serving New Yorkers, we must always just remember to receives a commission pretty. Due to this new funding and previous wage enhancements we made for the sector, we’ve now invested $1.4 billion to enhance pay for human service employees. That is how we construct fairness and provides employees the assist they deserve. And that is what it seems like to assist our nonprofit companions appeal to and retain high expertise going ahead.
This announcement builds on our administration’s monitor file of standing with working-class New Yorkers and never solely guaranteeing that they receives a commission pretty for his or her laborious work, but in addition discovering methods to get more cash again of their pockets. In two years, we’ve negotiated historic contracts with unions representing 95 p.c of the town’s workforce and one hundred pc of the town’s uniformed workforce, and we’ve hit this milestone quicker than any administration in fashionable historical past.
We additionally fulfilled a marketing campaign pledge to work with Albany lawmakers and safe an enhancement of the New York City Earned Income Tax Credit, benefitting over 800,000 households and strengthening the town’s social security web. That’s cash for households to place in the direction of hire, payments, and groceries. As a part of our multi-billion little one care blueprint, we reduced the per child co-payment or out-of-pocket cost of sponsored little one look after a household of 4 incomes $55,000 a 12 months from $55 per week in 2022 to $4.80 per week. Now, dad and mom don’t must determine between their profession or little one care.
I’m proud to be a blue-collar mayor, and by providing honest pay, we’re making a fairer and extra equitable metropolis for all. By delivering on our imaginative and prescient for a extra livable metropolis, we’re guaranteeing that New York Metropolis isn’t solely the best metropolis on the planet to stay, but in addition one of many best locations to work, particularly for individuals who sacrifice a lot for all of us.
