Gov. Cuomo Makes A Joke of Wage Issue

Governor Andrew Cuomo loves to be the first out of the gate. He seems to think speed equals being correct on progressive issues. Being first seems to be more important then being correct or truly leading.

Today he tried to get out front on the issue of a living wage. This is a huge issue and one that has to be addressed by political leaders on every level. He stood in NYC in front of unions and union members wagging his finger and belittling and shaming the fast food and restaurant industry about the paltry wages they offer to their employees in comparison to company CEO's. And of course he's right. There are CEO's at some of those companies making up to $23million a year. And yes, the average fast food employee may make about $16K per year. One of the Governor's arguments and where he showed real anger was when he discussed the fact that many of these employees had to take advantage of state and federal programs like Medicaid, food subsidies, etc. He was outraged that the state, yes government, was subsidizing these businesses by providing these benefits. So far he sounds pretty progressive, right? Standing up for the little guy. Beating up on those corporate scoundrels who are always taking advantage.

Cuomo has tried to get the NYS Legislature to act on increasing the minimum wage to a meaningful level but they've resisted. So he's trying to find a new way to accomplish it or to create the atmosphere for negotiations with the other branch of government. He announced that he's creating a wage board to review the issue of a wage increase for employees in the food industry. It will report, recommend and potentially act on a new wage structure for those employees in three months.

First, let's be clear. Those employees that the Governor identified and was talking about today do deserve better - much better - from all of us. But so do a lot of other people and the last thing we need, especially from a supposed progressive, is to create classes of employees. Those who get a living wage and those don't, etc., etc. Who'll referee that scenario.

In addition, the Governor should think and get some facts before he wags his finger at other people. There's a whole other group of employees that are possibly in worse shape than employees in the food industry and they are in that situation because of policies and funding issues developed and supported by the Governor and his administrative and executive staff. These people also, sometimes have to depend on benefits provided by the government and taxpayers. There are many, but let me identify some specifically. They're called Direct Support Professionals. They support some of the state's most vulnerable and important citizens - some of the people they support are pretty independent but some need total support. They support people with many different types of disabilities, some physical, some developmental and some behavioral. These support staff are hired by nonprofit agencies who are paid by NYS (the Governor) to provide these services. In most cases the rates the agencies receive are inadequate to cover the costs of care and support. In most cases these agencies and the supports they provide have been routinely reduced, transformed and cut. These are good people, the employees and the agencies, who deserve better from their corporate leader.

To add insult to injury, the Governor created a well intentioned investigative unit called the Justice Center that can force an agency and one of their employees to be out of work, unpaid for days or months while they try to figure out how to investigate charges of abuse and neglect. The bureaucracy that was created does less to control abuse it seems, but certainly helps people decide about their career choice.

Good intentions are nice. They help us align values. But more is needed then good intentions. If Governor Cuomo wants CEO's of private companies to step up, if he wants the Legislature to step up, if he wants non profits to step up, he needs to look in the mirror and step up himself. He needs to put his money where his mouth is. He needs to recognize that the state of NY has to provide resources to pay people a decent and living wage especially when they are supporting people and doing work that the state has a responsibility to provide.