Poverty Wages Trap Workers, Unions Free Us
Living wages and job security are the foundation of strong communities
Opinion piece by Nick Freno, union laborer
Republicans, Democrats, Liberals and any other group all think they have the answer. I grew up on 105th st and 1st Ave in East Harlem. Poverty, crime, and lack of education was and is common. Growing up in the 80's and 90's I have seen things change but a lot is still the same.
In the 2000's you started to see the gentrification of the neighborhood. I definitely think that has a connection with the decline in crime of the neighborhood. Companies and rich individuals were buying up all this property to sell and rent so NYPD had to "clean it up". One thing I have noticed growing up and even now with all of the improvements, household incomes are below average and poverty really hasn't changed much.
In 2006 I applied to the Laborers Local 79 apprenticeship program. I applied because as I was growing up I always heard joining a Union was the thing to do; You could make great pay and great benefits. I noticed that's what people really wanted, the opportunity to make a living to take care of and spend more time with their families.
Being part of a union has allowed me to take care of my family the way I always wanted. It has also taught me that workers make things happen. Companies' profits come from us. So in today's times it is frustrating to see what people have to put up with to feed their family.
One thing I learned is these powerful companies/people have turned parts of the working class who are doing well against the poor. It's funny because we are all trying to do the same thing.
I have seen people blame immigrants and the poor for being on welfare or any other kind of assistance. It's the same rhetoric that big companies and politicians push to keep the blame from themselves.
Today's pandemic really has shown what the poor/working poor have to deal with. People receiving extra money from unemployment have probably never made that much money before. People who get paid well with good benefits don't mind going back to work.
So I figured let's not blame the poor. How about these same companies and politicians start to work on getting better pay and benefits for these same people that they blame. If people are paid a livable wage with benefits they will want to work and won't have to seek assistance from the government. It's a win win for everyone. I mean the rich may make a couple billion less but I'm sure they will be ok with the rest of the billions they have. So if you're Republican, Democrat, Liberal or anything else I think this is the answer.
