Underpaid but not Undervalued

New York City services millions of youths, homeless, and seniors in poverty through human service nonprofits whose government contracts ironically pay workers poverty wages. Most of the workers are people of color and more than half of the 80,000 in the city-funded nonprofit sector are women of color. A March report from the Center for New York City Affairs found two-thirds of these nonprofit workers had earnings at or below the city’s “near-poverty” threshold, which federally is about $28,000 a year for a family of four. Pay is so low that 60 percent of those working in the human services sector were utilizing or had a family member utilizing some form of public assistance benefits such as Medicaid or food stamps.*

We are so deeply appreciative of the Human Services Council, Homeless Services United, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA), Fiscal Policy Institute, United Neighborhood Houses, and New York City’s philanthropic community for advocating for the nonprofit sector. They have called attention to these inequities and are guiding the way forward. They have been tireless in their fight to establish a prevailing wage schedule with a real living wage for human services workers and city-contracted workers.

The common theme that we see with our clients is the struggle to increasingly raise enough money to meet the salary increases required to retain and attract qualified staff. A tight labor market has also made filling low-wage positions even more difficult. Now, more than ever, general operating funds are necessary to provide basic overhead, benefits that retain and reduce staff turnover, and provide professional development.

Afterschool workers at Cypress Hills Local Development Corp., daycare providers at Women in Need (WIN), attorneys at Children’s Law Center, and community outreach specialists at Literacy, Inc., are just some of the essential positions at our recent clients who are feeling the pressure of inflation and increasing housing costs in NYC. These nonprofits are continuously challenged to raise enough money to cover their rising expenses and maintain the cost-of-living increases that their government contracts are not covering. We are very proud to work side-by-side with the devoted and persistent nonprofit leaders and development teams at agencies like these. They value the dedication and hardworking people that help our fellow New Yorkers thrive.

“To rebuild to come out of this ahead, you need to pay people. People need to be able to live in the city that they work in and survive.” – Erica Oquendo runs the Cypress HillsLocal Development Corporation‘s youth programs and family counseling in East New York.

Mayor Eric Adams’s proposed new budget did not include cost-of-living wage increases for nonprofit workers contracted by the city, advocates said. While city workers have cost-of-living adjustments baked into their contracts, nonprofit workers subcontracted by the city do not. The city budget is going to be hammered out by the end of June and it’s not too late to put pressure on our government electeds.

Join the #JustPay campaign that seeks to implement changes around inequitable pay. If you are an organization or an individual, join the coalition, share your story, and share on social media. If you work in social services and can provide testimony, sign up here! Write a letter to your representatives, by clicking here.

Show our nonprofit workforce that they are valued. Join the fight to help our human services workers get fair and family-sustaining wages!

“The #JustPay campaign is dedicated to fighting poverty wages in the sector by holding our government partners accountable for chronically underfunding human services contracts and therefore setting low wages for workers in this critical sector. Through the campaign, we not only want to raise wages but also build collective power and demonstrate the strength of the nonprofit sector. We are so grateful for partners like Growth for Good that help spread our message and link us to the broader community!” – Michelle Jackson is the Executive Director of the Human Services Council of New York