TESTIMONY
Gloria Middleton, President of Communication Workers of America Local 1180, on Pay Equity and Career Advancement for Women and People of Color in New York City's Municipal Workforce
1:51:57
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3 min
Middleton testified about her union's efforts to achieve pay equity, especially for women and women of color who make up a large portion of the union's members.
- She highlighted a previous successful lawsuit against NYC that resulted in a $15 million win for members due to pay inequity
- She cited Local Law 18 and recent reports showing persistent gender and racial pay gaps in the municipal workforce
- Middleton advocated for strengthening laws to advance promotional opportunities and using civil service and educational attainment to increase salaries
- She called for equitable compensation for all workers regardless of race or gender, especially for the crucial role played by women and people of color in keeping the city running
Gloria Middleton
1:51:57
Good afternoon.
1:51:58
Committee chairs, Dela Rosa, Williams, and Lewis, committee members, and city council members.
1:52:08
My name is Gloria Middleton.
1:52:09
I am president of Communication Workers of America Local 1180.
1:52:14
My union represents almost 9000 active city administrator creative and private sector workers and close to 6000 retirees.
1:52:21
1 of our main objectives as a union representing predominantly women and women of color has always been to fight for equal salaries for all.
1:52:31
But you but you all know that.
1:52:33
Local 11 80 has been one of the leading outspoken voices in the past decade for women and women of color.
1:52:40
Pay inequity is not a new problem in the city of New York.
1:52:45
You know that too.
1:52:46
In 2016, we successfully sued the city of New York in an EEO lawsuit that resulted in a $15,000,000 win for our members because the facts were on our side.
1:52:59
That lawsuit was pivotal in our decision to recommend legislation forcing the city to look at statistics that would illuminate pay parity for all municipal workers throughout every agency.
1:53:12
We sit here today as a result of that legislation.
1:53:16
Local law 18 with firsthand information that proves what we already knew to be true.
1:53:23
The results of the recent pay equity report released by the council demonstrates that large gender and racial pay gaps still exists in the New York City Municipal Workforce.
1:53:35
It is hard to fathom that years after I first started testifying at counsel hearings about this ongoing issue.
1:53:43
Here we are again.
1:53:45
The wage gap between white white men and women and women of color earn continues to rob a clear sector of workers of fair wages and the economic stability to support themselves and their families.
1:53:59
Local law 18, which requires an annual study of the city's workforce salaries, clearly needs strengthening.
1:54:07
We must pass laws to advanced promotional and career development opportunities that include using the civil service system and encouraging women and minorities to obtain college degrees while employed as a means to increase salaries.
1:54:22
My members asked me over and over again.
1:54:25
How do I get to the maximum salary of my title?
1:54:29
I received my BA, my MA, and my agency does not recognize my competency or my sacrifice.
1:54:38
It's unconscionable that as of 2021, the latest year for which data is available, city government workers of color earned just 84ยข for every dollar paid and salary to white workers.
1:54:49
With 2 thirds of that wage gap being due to disparate salaries for female employees of color.
1:54:56
With the latest studies showing their persistent wage gaps, largely due to occupational segregation whereby women and people of color are concentrated in job titles that historically pay less local 11 days stands behind the council's floor bills seeking to promote diversity in the upper ranks of government.
1:55:16
Everyone, regardless of race, agenda, has a right to be compensated fairly and adequately for their hard work in keeping this city running.
1:55:25
Thank you.