Large Healthcare Institutions in Troy, NY Must Take Responsibility and Help Fight Poverty by Providing Good Middle-Class Jobs
Who and What: Rensselaer County healthcare workers, area leaders and concerned citizens hold rally and press avail
When: TODAY! Thursday, March 3 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Where: 1401 Massachusetts Avenue, Troy
Troy, NY: On Thursday, March 3 from 2-5 p.m., community leaders are joining concerned Rensselaer County citizens, including healthcare workers, to demand that the county’s large healthcare institutions provide good, middle-class jobs to residents.
Troy, NY: On Thursday, March 3 from 2-5 p.m., community leaders are joining concerned Rensselaer County citizens, including healthcare workers, to demand that the county’s large healthcare institutions provide good, middle-class jobs to residents.
The nascent group has been working to restore Rensselaer County to a place of economic and social stability. Today, they are turning their attention to the healthcare field and urging local hospitals, major employers in the area, to take responsibility and provide, good middle-class healthcare jobs with decent wages and quality, affordable healthcare. The wages of many area healthcare workers, who take care of the community’s injured and sick, are so low that they can’t make ends meet to take care of their own families.
Concerned Rensselaer County residents have for some time been sounding the alarm about Troy’s high poverty rate. Once a prosperous city and shining star of the county, today almost half of Troy households have incomes of under $25,000. The total child poverty rate tops 46 percent, with over 70 percent of Latino children and nearly 75 percent of black children living in poverty.
“I’ve lived in Rensselaer County for 11 years, but I work in Albany County because there aren’t any hospital jobs here that pay enough for me to live,” said Sharmaine Allen, a healthcare worker and Troy resident. “I have a lot of friends who can’t afford to work and live in Rensselaer because the hospitals don’t pay enough and only offer expensive healthcare benefits. I want to see the hospitals pay a living wage so that I can work where I live, instead of spending money on buses and missing time with my friends and family.”
“I lived in Troy for two years, but I moved to Schenectady because I had to live closer to my job,” said Tamara Elzubair. “When rich hospitals pay poverty wages, it pushes people like me out of the community and everybody loses. If I could be paid a fair wage in Troy, I would like to come back.”
1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest union in New York and the largest healthcare union in the nation. We represent over 400,000 total members throughout New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all.
Who and What: Rensselaer County healthcare workers, area leaders and concerned citizens hold rally and press avail
When: TODAY! Thursday, March 3 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Where: 1401 Massachusetts Avenue, Troy
Troy, NY: On Thursday, March 3 from 2-5 p.m., community leaders are joining concerned Rensselaer County citizens, including healthcare workers, to demand that the county’s large healthcare institutions provide good, middle-class jobs to residents.
Troy, NY: On Thursday, March 3 from 2-5 p.m., community leaders are joining concerned Rensselaer County citizens, including healthcare workers, to demand that the county’s large healthcare institutions provide good, middle-class jobs to residents.
The nascent group has been working to restore Rensselaer County to a place of economic and social stability. Today, they are turning their attention to the healthcare field and urging local hospitals, major employers in the area, to take responsibility and provide, good middle-class healthcare jobs with decent wages and quality, affordable healthcare. The wages of many area healthcare workers, who take care of the community’s injured and sick, are so low that they can’t make ends meet to take care of their own families.
Concerned Rensselaer County residents have for some time been sounding the alarm about Troy’s high poverty rate. Once a prosperous city and shining star of the county, today almost half of Troy households have incomes of under $25,000. The total child poverty rate tops 46 percent, with over 70 percent of Latino children and nearly 75 percent of black children living in poverty.
“I’ve lived in Rensselaer County for 11 years, but I work in Albany County because there aren’t any hospital jobs here that pay enough for me to live,” said Sharmaine Allen, a healthcare worker and Troy resident. “I have a lot of friends who can’t afford to work and live in Rensselaer because the hospitals don’t pay enough and only offer expensive healthcare benefits. I want to see the hospitals pay a living wage so that I can work where I live, instead of spending money on buses and missing time with my friends and family.”
“I lived in Troy for two years, but I moved to Schenectady because I had to live closer to my job,” said Tamara Elzubair. “When rich hospitals pay poverty wages, it pushes people like me out of the community and everybody loses. If I could be paid a fair wage in Troy, I would like to come back.”
1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest union in New York and the largest healthcare union in the nation. We represent over 400,000 total members throughout New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all.
