Mayor Eric Adams allocated $741 million to increase wages for the city’s nonprofit workforce that provides social services to older adults, children and people with disabilities, offering a 9% pay bump over the next three years.
The funds will provide a 3% annual cost-of-living adjustment to the city’s human services workforce, which includes nonprofit employees such as social workers and case managers. Roughly 80,000 human service workers citywide will benefit from the pay increases, which will begin on July 1 and extend through 2026, the administration said.
The workforce includes essential workers that provide services such as meal deliveries, public benefits assistance and health care. A bulk of the workers come from marginalized backgrounds — two-thirds are women, and nearly half are women of color, the mayor’s office said.
Although the new funding represents a big win for the city’s nonprofit workforce, continued investments are needed to bring pay up to a livable wage, said Jeremy Kaplan, executive director of the Midtown-based nonprofit Encore Community Services.
Kaplan said that city contracts with Encore Community Services, which provides older adult services including meal deliveries and supportive housing, allow him to pay social caseworkers around $45,000. But those same positions at a hospital may pay up to $100,000, he said.
By the end of the three years, Kaplan said his organization will be able to pay social caseworkers around $49,000 — which is a “step in the right direction.”
“But at a time when a gallon of milk costs seven bucks… it’s a marginal increase,” he added, noting that because many who work in the roles are underpaid, they need the same services that they are providing. Kaplan said that providing a cost-of-living adjustment for years to come will stop nonprofits from having to fight for one every budget cycle.
The mayor’s funding allocation will benefit workers employed by nonprofit organizations that contract with the city. The investment builds on a 7% cost-of-living increase included in the 2024 fiscal year budget, the administration said.
Amanda D'Ambrosio , 2024-03-15 09:33:04
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