State elected officials representing Central New York want Governor Kathy Hochul’s support to direct a share of $500 million in federal pandemic relief dollars to give employees of disability service providers a raise.
The leaders cited a recent study by the Rockefeller Institute of Government that shows CNY service providers employ 6,000 full-time staff which generates $400 million in the local economy. State Sen. John Mannion explained why a significant cost of living increase needs to happen in the upcoming state budget.
“We can all work together to dramatically improve lives, put more people to work and improve the state’s overall economy,” Mannion said. “The foundation is there. We’re talking about nearly 300,000 jobs and nearly $14.3 billion in economic impact.”
Mannion suggested the more direct care workers there are with better pay, the 70% of unemployed New Yorkers with disabilities might also be able to land jobs with their support. The President and CEO of New York Industries for the Disabled Maureen O’Brien agreed.
“A direct care worker does everything from helping someone get to work, get dressed, understand their bus route — all of those things,” Maureen said. “Those workers have not had a significant cost of living increase in quite some time.”
An honorable mention was given to Tyquan Allen during a press conference for his work as a custodian at the state fairgrounds’ mass vaccination center.
“It was good for me. Got my foot in the door and kept going here, keep doing my job,” Tyquan said. “Be on time every day, clean the bathrooms, make sure they got enough supplies and all of that other stuff.”
Allen is an employee of Arc of Onondaga in the business services department, which secured a cleaning contract at the NYS State Fairgrounds.