FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:April1, 2016 PeteMeyers, Tompkins County Workers' Center 607-339-1680/[email protected] Where's OUR $2.50?Minimum Wage Increase is Great but Upstate Needs a LivingWage Too! (ITHACA) The Tompkins County Workers' Center (TCWC)applauds today's historic decision to increase wages of the lowest paid NYSworkers putting them closer to a Living Wage. Increasing the minimum wageupstate to only $12.50 (in five years), however, is extremely disappointing. It repudiates the promise that Governor Cuomo made to these workers earlierthis year and denies them the same chance to approach a Living Wage as allother workers in the state.
The TCWC began its own campaign for a CountywideMinimum Wage that is a Living Wage (presently $14.34/hour in Tompkins County)in the spring of 2015. Says campaign Organizing Committee Member, Milton Webb(a recycling worker at Tompkins County Recycling whose leadership helped himand his co-workers wages win a raise to a Living Wage last year):"Everyone everywhere in New York State needs to be making a minimum of$15/hour RIGHT NOW! No one can reasonably live on $9.75/hour." "The incredibly high cost of living in TompkinsCounty translates into many workers falling far short of a family sustaininglivelihood even with the increase. The TCWC will continue its efforts for atrue Living Wage for all workers in Tompkins County, and will support the rightof workers to organize for collective bargaining and against Wage Theft,especially as the minimum wage rises," said Pete Meyers, Coordinator ofthe TCWC. SaysLorie Compton, a Direct Service Professional at the Franziska Racker Center inIthaca and a mother of two, says: "I'm very disappointed that the wageisn't going up higher or quicker in Upstate New York. I make $11.40 an hour andcan barely make ends meet. I have to pay rent. I have to buy groceries. Perhapsmanagement should consider taking a cut in profit rates and excessively highmanagerial salaries so that other people who are doing the hard work can make aLiving Wage, a wage we need just to survive!" SaysErin Leidy, a longtime worker in various transportation industries, and aresident of the rural Tompkins County community, Dryden, NY: "Any increaseis welcome but I think the timelines make the increases much less impactful.Additionally, I'm aware that the overall cost of living is higher in the citythan upstate but that is primarily caused by rents. There are parts of upstate(like Ithaca) where the rental markets look more like parts of the city thanpeople think. I feel like I have to live in Dryden because of the cost of rentin Ithaca." Adil Griguihi, Owner of Casablanca Pizzeria in Ithaca says: "If they give an increase to New Yorkers, it should be the sameincrease at the same time for everyone. The rent is expensive in TompkinsCounty; EVERYTHING is expensive here. Even $15 is not enough. But the State should also be figuring out a way to help small business owners pay this wage." “It's important for usto remember that a Living Wage is defined at what Minimum Wage should be, on alocal level, based on real costs to live,” says Rob Brown, staff person for theTCWC. “While the State's new three-tier plan recognizes that New York City isan especially expensive place to live, it falls short of acknowledging that thesame is true in Upstate communities. Tompkins County has been in the nationalnews this past year for being one of the most expensive places in the US, notjust NY, for health insurance, housing, and other costs of living. We needlocal leaders in the workforce, in business, and in government to stand up and showthat we can also lead in making sure our neighbors earn what they need.” #### For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ If you have questions about this list please contact the list manager, Tom Shelley, at [email protected].
