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TESTIMONY
Gloria Kim on Addressing Workforce Investment and Fair Compensation Needs in Human Services
5:06:19
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Gloria Kim discusses the need for fair compensation and improvements to workforce investments in human services.
- Gloria Kim represents the Human Services Council in advocating for better compensation for over 170 human services providers' workers in NYC.
- She thanks the city council for a recent $100 million investment and the promise of another $50 million, but critiques these as insufficient.
- Kim highlights the sector's challenges such as a high percentage of workers needing food stamps due to low wages.
- She stresses the disparity between the salaries of human services workers and those in government or the private sector.
- Kim advocates for a 5% cost of living adjustment (COLA) this year and 3% COLA in the following years for all city-funded human services contracts.
Gloria Kim
5:06:19
Good afternoon.
5:06:20
W.
5:06:20
C.
5:06:21
Grayala, and members of the New York City Council General Fair Welfare Committee.
5:06:25
My name is Gloria Kim, and I'm the drug serve policy research and impact of the Human Services Council, a membership organization representing over a 170 human services providers in New York City.
5:06:36
We thank the city council for the $100,000,000 workforce investment in the last 2 years and the commitment to an additional $50,000,000 in the fiscal year 25 budget.
5:06:46
Which is a step forward in fairly compensating frontline workers rather than providing services to the millions of New Yorkers.
5:06:52
However, the work force investment is not a true cost of living adjustment with a guaranteed percentage increase for all contracted human services workers.
5:07:00
Nicola is a significant step to address the historic underfunding and lack of investment in the human services sector as these workers do some of the most important jobs in our communities yet are underpaid and undervalued.
5:07:12
As government is a predominant funder of human services, through government contracts, This has resulted in nearly 25% of all human services workers qualifying for food stamps in 2016 to 2018.
5:07:25
Low wages also have a sweeping effect on workplace conditions and the outcome of programs with high staff turnover and vacancy rates resulting in heavy and unsustainable workloads.
5:07:35
Government contracting practices have resulted in an intolerable situation of stream paid disparities where human services workers make an average 71% of what government employees make and 82% of what private sector employees receive with a threat to sustainability and deficiency of resources, the sector faces recruitment and retention issues, impacting the overall viability of organizations and program services.
5:08:02
So 5% cola in this year's budget and 3% cola each year for the next 2 years.
5:08:07
On the personal services line of all city funded human services contracts are needed to ensure this vital workforce does not slip further into poverty.
5:08:17
The lack of colas and global wages for workers, not only disadvantaged communities who rely on these workers for lifesaving services.