Testimony: On the State of Organized Labor
Irene Lew
Hearing on Labor During COVID-19
Before the NY City Council Committee on Civil Service and Labor
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the state of organized labor during the COVID-19 pandemic. My name is Irene Lew. I am a policy analyst at the Community Service Society of New York (CSS), a nonprofit organization that works to advance upward mobility for low-income New Yorkers. Today my testimony will be focused on the inequitable impact of the coronavirus pandemic on low- income workers and workers of color, and what the City can do to address these disparities.
While the pandemic was a setback for New Yorkers across the income spectrum, those at the bottom have shouldered most of the economic pain. According to CSS’s 2020 Unheard Third survey, 45 percent of low-income New Yorkers we surveyed – those at or below 200% of the federal poverty level – said that they or a member of their household had been furloughed, temporarily laid off, or lost their job permanently since the start of the pandemic, compared to a third of those with moderate to higher incomes. The scale of job loss and pay cuts among low-income New Yorkers is unprecedented, with the pandemic pushing low-income New Yorkers into a more economically precarious position than they were during the 2008–2009 Great Recession.Low-income New Yorkers in the Bronx and Queens have been hit particularly hard by job loss with over a third of residents reporting that they or someone in their household lost their job since the pandemic started, more than double the share reporting job loss during the Great Recession.
Pandemic-related wage and job loss has disproportionately impacted New Yorkers of color: in contrast to only 29 percent of white residents, 43 percent of Latinx, 41 percent of Asians, and 41 percent of Black residents reported temporary or permanent loss of employment in their households.
Furthermore, despite an expansion of unemployment benefits through the federal CARES Act, this relief was not reaching the New Yorkers most impacted by job loss. According to our survey data, more than half of low-income New Yorkers who lost employment income did not receive unemployment benefits or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). Latinx and Black New Yorkers were also far less likely to receive unemployment insurance or PUA: 56 percent of Latinx and 55 percent of Black residents did not receive this aid, in contrast to about a third of white residents. uter-borough residents who lost employment income were also far less likely to receive unemployment benefits: 53 percent of Queens residents did not receive unemployment benefits, compared to only 22 percent of those in Manhattan.
Without access to government relief, low-income New Yorkers who lost their paychecks have been forced to make difficult sacrifices, often having to cut back on groceries, forgo medical care, and miss housing payments. Low-income New Yorkers affected by COVID-related wage and job loss in their household were twice as likely as those who did not lose income to experience housing instability and to face hardship related to loss of health coverage and affording the cost of necessary health care and prescriptions. To address the increased economic insecurity of low-income New Yorkers, we must continue to prioritize the expansion of programs such as Fair Fares and Right to Counsel that will help cushion the blow of the pandemic. Given the disproportionate economic impact of the coronavirus on low-income New Yorkers of color in the Bronx and Queens, we also urge the City Council to focus on more targeted approach to recovery that will connect residents in these hard-hit communities to good-paying jobs.
Strengthening private-sector workers’ right to form a union and engage in collective bargaining would also help low-wage workers. A recent report from the Economic Policy Institute found that the erosion of union coverage has contributed to economic inequality exacerbated by the pandemic. During the pandemic, job losses have been concentrated in industries with lower unionization rates, like leisure and hospitality, while sectors with higher unionization rates, like the public sector, have tended to see fewer job losses.
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the critical connection between public health and worker health. COVID-19 infection rates are highest among workers of color, many of whom tend to work in essential, face-to-face occupations and do not have the luxury of working remotely: 40 percent of Latinx and 30 percent of Black workers we surveyed said that they or a family member had been infected with the coronavirus, compared to only 19 percent of white workers. Workers must feel safe returning to work, but many workers of color are worried about the risk of contracting COVID-19 on the job: half of Black and 45 percent of Latinx workers said that they were very concerned with catching the coronavirus at their current workplace, compared to only 35 percent of white workers.
To protect the health of our city’s essential workers—and the health of all New Yorkers—we urge the City Council to pass Intro 1797, which would require the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to produce posters for voluntary display at pharmacies and health care locations around the city informing New Yorkers of their right to job-protected paid sick leave. This information is sorely needed among low-income workers who can least afford to take time off to quarantine; less than half of low-income workers were familiar with the city’s paid sick days law (39 percent). Paid sick leave laws can help prevent the spread of COVID-19 by enabling low-income workers to stay home without fear of losing their jobs or their paychecks—but they’re effective only if workers know about them.
We urge the City Council to prioritize a more inclusive recovery for New York City by addressing the needs of the most vulnerable New Yorkers. Investing in the city’s workers today as they navigate the most unequal recession would be an investment in ensuring a dynamic and productive New York City of the future. We are fearful that the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the rapid changes in labor market demands – for example accelerated transition to remote work and automation, have the potential to push low-wage workers out of the market if they are not adequately supported with economic resources and training to adapt.