Q&A
Discussion on workers' experiences at affordable housing project sites
2:09:08
·
78 sec
Council Member De La Rosa asks Alvaro about the experiences of workers on affordable housing projects. Alvaro shares insights from his interactions with workers across New York City.
- Workers are earning between $16 to $25 per hour, which is insufficient for living in the city
- Many workers lack medical coverage and are afraid to miss work due to financial constraints
- Some workers face intimidation related to their parole or immigration status, preventing them from speaking up about wages or working conditions
Carmen N. De La Rosa
2:09:08
You've been talking to workers on these affordable housing projects.
2:09:12
What have you heard from big counterparts.
Alvaro Gonzalez Duran
2:09:15
Yeah.
2:09:16
So what we we're going around all over throughout New York City, and the one thing we're hearing is, you know, workers are making anywhere from 16 to 25 hours an hour, which, in my opinion, is you can't live anywhere.
2:09:29
With that wage.
2:09:31
Oftentimes, what we hear is that workers, you know, they're not getting the the medical coverage attached to this.
2:09:42
And also, you know, they're oftentimes afraid to leave these jobs because they can't afford to miss a day.
2:09:52
They can't afford, you know, because like I said, they're not making great wages, so they're not saving up.
2:09:57
And a lot of times, we've heard that some construction workers parole status or immigration status is held over their head, which does, you know, when they wanna talk about up when they wanna speak up about their wages or conditions, this is hanging over their head so they could be silence, which does keep them in jobs that are dangerous, and have no pathway to future for them.
