Increase begins January 1, 2022
Adam Bello
Rochester – At a press conference this morning, Monroe County Executive Adam Bello announced the minimum wage for all County employees will increase to $15 an hour starting January 1, 2022. Bello was joined by CSEA, Federation of Social Workers, community advocates, the county leadership team and elected officials for this historic announcement.
“Many of our dedicated Monroe County employees didn’t have the option of working from home throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Their job, and our community, depended on them showing up to work every day. But many of these employees are also some of our lowest earnings, making less than $15 an hour. I’m committed to ending this disparity because I recognize the value of the people behind the jobs that keep our community moving forward,” said County Executive Bello.
Currently there are nearly 600 Monroe County employees making less than $15 an hour in various County departments, including: Monroe Community Hospital, Parks, Environmental Services, Human Services, Human Resources, Public Health, Public Safety, Information Services, Transportation and the Frederick Douglass – Greater Rochester International Airport.
“Essential and front-line CSEA workers make up a majority of those who would benefit most from a $15 minimum wage. Low wages hurt all workers and are particularly harmful to Black workers and other workers of color, especially women of color, who make up a disproportionate share of county employees who are acutely underpaid. CSEA believes a minimum wage should be a living wage. We thank County Executive Adam Bello for his vision and wholeheartedly welcome this initiative,” added Jim D’Amico, President of CSEA Monroe County Local 828.
Today’s announcement is just the latest effort by County Executive Bello to increase wages of Monroe County’s lowest-earning employees. In December, Bello announced a wage increase for over 300 CSEA employees at Monroe Community Hospital and other various County departments, primarily working in food service, building maintenance and laundry service. Those wages were raised to $12.50, which is the state minimum wage and went into effect on January 1, 2021.
-Ove Overmyer
