Governor Cuomo
To the Editor:
BPCA employees are just the tip of the iceberg of people left out of the Governor’s plan.
Although he is getting a lot of PR out of pushing for a $15 minimum wage, yet has not put money in the budget to fund this increase for nonprofit agencies with whom the state contracts.
In New York, crucial social services, including foster care, juvenile justice programs, early childhood education, services for the homeless, and programs for those with developmental disabilities, are provided by nonprofit agencies and funded by state and city contracts.
If the minimum wage raises to $15 and no additional funds are provided through those contracts, many agencies will have no option but to discontinue these crucial services.
At one agency alone, Sheltering Arms Children and Family Services, this increase in wages would cost over $1.5 million a year. Our staff works incredibly hard, and help protect New York’s most vulnerable, and we fully support paying them a higher wage.
But unless the Governor finances these increases, an assistant teacher for developmentally delayed children could make more money by taking a job flipping burgers. Surely we can do better.
Elizabeth McCarthy
CEO, Sheltering Arms Children and Family Services