Aliyya Swaby Photo
Tuesday night’s crowd signals support for wage raise.
Erica Lewis sobbed as she spoke about moving into a shelter with her daughter despite earning above minimum wage at two home care jobs.
She and dozens of other workers and activists packed the meeting room at 200 Orange St. Tuesday evening to testify before the Low Wage Employer Advisory Board on the need to raise the minimum wage, increase access to government benefits and curb labor violations.
The 13-member board, part of the Connecticut Department of Labor, will make recommendations to the state legislature in the next month and a half, said co-chair James Bhandary-Alexander, who works as a legal aid lawyer.
Workers represented Tuesday included security guards, farm laborers, home care providers and restaurant servers. They expressed support for House Bill 5370, which calls for the state hourly minimum wage to increase from $9.60 to $15, a call being raised in cities across the country. Connecticut is currently on track to raise its hourly minimum wage to $10.10 in 2017.
How many of you think Connecticut should raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour? Bhandary-Alexander asked.
Most in the room raised their hands.
Erica Lewis testifies Tuesday night.
Lewis explained that she can’t afford her daughter’s public school uniform as well as the fees to pay for her driver’s license exam. Instead of driving to her elderly client’s home in Hamden, she takes the bus two hours from her home in New Haven to Hamden. She wants to go back to school to pursue a human services degree, but she can’t afford to cut back on hours and pay for school, she said.
One of her home care jobs pays $12 per hour; the other pays $13.53. She qualifies for food stamps and state Medicaid for her and her daughter.
“I got into home care work by taking care of my elderly grandparents,” she said. “I love working with people and enjoy helping them out. But the low pay is making it almost impossible for experienced people like me to make critical home care work our career.”
Defelice.
Rhonda Defelice holds two full-time jobs providing care for people with developmental disabilities — and has only one morning a week to see her 9‑year-old son, who has special medical needs. Her husband works one full-time job, yet still they struggle to pay bills.
“As a low-wage worker, you are always on the run, always piecing together jobs and hours, always worrying about the bills piling up. You forget how crazy, how inhumane it all is,” she said.
People testifying Tuesday also asked the advisory board to crack down on labor violations that separate employees from needed benefits.
Bhandary-Alexander.
Daniel Ravizza, researcher for the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, elaborated on data showing that contractors intentionally misclassify employees as independent contractors, allowing them to save up to 30 percent on labor costs. “The worker being misclassified also must pay all back taxes at the end of the year and assumes all liability for any injuries that may happen on the job,” he said.
Uninsured workers who are injured on the job depend on the state’s Second Injury fund, burdening workers and taxpayers, Ravizza said. He asked that the board recommend increased fines for employers who misclassify workers as independent contractors.
Latino immigrant workers expressed concern about issues plaguing their communities, such as wage theft in restaurants and on farms.
Adalberto Barranco, a member of activist group Unidad Latina en Accion, said he has made about $6.50 an hour working on a farm in North Branford for the last seven years. “What are we going to do about wage theft?” he said.
Ramirez.
Luis Ramirez lives in Fair Haven and is a factory and restaurant worker. He has made $6 per hour at restaurants to provide for his wife and five children — with no tips to supplement the pay. Now he works at Burger King and is unable to spend time with his kids during the weekends.
“Every business owner in Connecticut gets rich because of our work,” he said. “We need a decent pay raise” to $15 per hour.
Paulina Lopez started working on a farm in Cheshire three years ago and earns $9.15 per hour — below minimum wage. Farm work is demanding and she has a son to provide for. A salary bump to $15 would make it easier for them to survive.
“I want to know what’s going to happen with the farm workers,” she said, through a translator. “Are you going to include us in this?”
Bhandary-Alexander said the hearing “couldn’t have been any better,” as a way to connect policy issues with individual narratives.
The board heard from economic experts from the Economic Policy Institute and Demos think tank in previous hearings about how minimum wage increases have affected other cities. It meets monthly and hopes to have an initial report with policy recommendations to the legislature in the next month and a half, he said.
Click here to read or listen to a debate on WNHH radio between Democratic State Sen. Gary WInfield and Republican State Sen. Joe Markley over whether a minimum-wage hike boosts the economy or kills jobs.
How many people in that photo have done anything to upgrade their skills in recent years? We'll see how all this plays out, but one way to make more money is to improve one's skills. Demanding more money doesn't make one worth more money.