MANHATTAN — CSEA members from the Guild for Exceptional Children recently joined workers from other organizations that support individuals with developmental disabilities to demand a living wage.
The only way that these organizations can raise wages for direct support professionals, teachers’ aides, drivers, cooks and others making minimum wage, or a little bit more, is for government to increase the rates they provide for the delivery of these critical services to New York’s most vulnerable citizens.
“I love what I do by serving those with developmental disabilities, those who need assistance and those bettering themselves,” said Anthony Martinez, a direct support professional at the Guild for 14 years. “It would only be fair if my fellow direct support professionals and I had a living wage that can help us live and better ourselves.”
More than 90 percent of the funding that sustains these organizations comes from government and 80 percent of that goes directly to wages for staff who care for New Yorkers with autism, serious brain injuries, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities.
“Direct support professionals, special education teaching assistants and support staff such as cooks and drivers are not being paid a wage that they can live on,” said Peter Pierri, executive director of the Interagency Council of Developmental Disabilities Agencies, Inc. “Statewide starting salaries average between $9.62 and $10.78. The jobs are complex and challenging and the pay is low.”
Nearly three-quarters of these workers are women, many single mothers and more than half are people of color.
In June, the “300 Days to Better Pay” campaign was launched by the #bFair2DirectCareCoalition. The campaign calls on Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature to address this critical funding issue in the next state budget to avoid a crisis. The coalition includes organizations that support New Yorkers with developmental disabilities.
“You don’t have to look far to find some real life heroes in our community and direct support professionals are certainly among their number,” said State Sen. Jesse Hamilton, the ranking member on the Senate Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Committee.
“I stand in solidarity with direct support professionals as they demand what every worker deserves — a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work,” said Hamilton.
— David Galarza
