CITY COUNCIL ADDRESSES RIGHT TO LIVING WAGE AND PROTECTION FROM PREDATORY LENDING

uring the March 13th City Council Meeting, two large issues were a Living Wage Bill and a Predatory Lending Bill, as well as several other crucial matters concerning those struggling financially.

The meeting began with Speaker Gifford Miller addressing the Council on behalf of a Living Wage Bill, which he had introduced with Council Member Bill Perkins and 26 others.

This Bill would require companies awarded City contracts or receiving City subsidies to pay their employees above the poverty level. Employees who are covered by a health plan would be paid $8.10 per hour for fiscal year 2003, and $9.60 for those without a health plan. The living wage would then increase incrementally over the next few years and eventually be indexed to inflation.

Said Miller, "This bill is for workers who are too often taken for granted, but nonetheless perform jobs that help the taxpayers every single day. Without a living wage from employers, workers and their families are forced to lean on an already overburdened social service system, unnecessarily draining taxpayer dollars from other equally necessary City services."

Councilman Perkins thanked the Speaker "for joining us in the movement to make sure that those who are the least of us will be protected by the City in terms of their working conditions and being able to fend for themselves and take care of their families.

"This legislation will effect about 70,000 low-wage workers such as the home care workers, day care workers, street cleaners, and food service workers," continued Perkins. "It will ensure that companies contracting with the City do not profit from poverty wages. It is a moral imperative, and it also makes good economic sense because when people can afford a decent standard of living they are less reliant on City services. It is also my understanding that when the living wage has been put into effect in other cities, unemployment goes down and employment retention goes up."

He was backed up by Councilman James Sanders, Chair of the Economic Development Committee, who said, "As we provide significant incentive packaging to corporations, it's only decent and fair that we require them to be good corporate citizens by ensuring that their employees and their subcontractor's employee's are paid a basic living wage."

To encourage his colleagues to see the reality of people this Bill concerns, Council Member Robert Jackson spoke about one specific individual who would be affected by it - Juanita Perkins, a member of Local 1199 who has been a home care attendant for the last 2 decades. "After 20 years, she only earns about $7.22 an hour and works 7 days a week in order to try to make ends meet. This is totally unacceptable in the year 2002."

Councilwoman Helen Sears urged everyone to support this Bill, stating, "Somehow poverty seems to be punished in the state of New York. Instead of helping people, punitive measures are put forth. I don't believe this proposed Bill yet raises the working poor to the level of a decent living, but it at least shows people that we acknowledge that they are sincere in their working efforts and that we recognize that they require our support."

Speaker Miller had also spoken of the Predatory Lending Bill that he and Councilmen James Sanders, Philip Reed and a number of others had introduced. This bill prohibits the City from doing business with institutions that engage directly or indirectly in predatory lending practices. "This is an area which is not adequately regulated by Federal and State legislation," stated, Miller. "So the City Council wants to make sure, to the extent we are capable, that the companies doing business with the City are not forcing people into poverty by making predatory loans."

Council Member Reed rose in support of the Predatory Lending Bill, stating, "The City government must not allow institutions to say, 'Well, we didn't understand the policies we put in place could possibly destroy people's lives, so we shouldn't be held responsible.' We cannot hold institutions harmless while people's lives are harmed. People should feel their lives are protected by the City."

Councilwoman Yvette Clarke added, "I've seen so many immigrants, so many seniors come to my office crying after they were tricked into signing documents believing that they would be able to own their property, only to have it snatched from them. So it's about time that we have this very important legislation passed."

Vital issues affecting young people were brought up as well. Councilman Bill DeBlasio, Chair of General Welfare Committee, told his colleagues, "We had a hearing two days ago in relation to the $192 million in federal funding for child care that appears to have had very little effect on our city. This money was paid to our city over a 3-year span, and we expected it to create as many as 10,000 new childcare slots. But we wake up to find that over the last years the city has in fact lost over 6,000 slots." He said that they are asking the administration to find out where that $192 million went and why it didn't result in more childcare slots.

"This is also related to the new budget proposal in which the administration wants to cut $80 million from childcare," said DeBlasio. "I was told last week that there will be no new childcare slots in New York City until at least 2006, which is intolerable. Why is this budget being balanced on the backs of kids? We have to do something to stop it!"

Council Member Lewis Fidler also submitted a Resolution calling upon the Governor, the State Legislature, and the Mayor to restore cuts made to the Summer Youth Employment Program. Explained Fidler, "Last year the city hired 50,000 young people from needy families for summer jobs. The proposed cuts would reduce it to - at most - 24,000 young people this year. This means that the young people are being asked to bear a 50% cut." And he stated, "I'm asking each and every one of you to sign on to Resolution 97 so we can see that 50,000 young people are hired again, and we meet our obligation to our youths."

It was good to see so many urgent issues spoken of forcefully, and action being taken. These Bills and Resolutions should be voted on and passed.

To locate your Council Member in order to urge him or her to do the right thing - or to show your support for what he or she is already doing - call (212) 349-6460 or e-mail cmap@nypirg.org.

For more information, please contact Donna Lamb at dlamb@gis.net.