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Trying to Get On My Feet in New York State Making $11.65 an Hour.
A starvation wage in one of the country’s most expensive states.
When people outside of the state think of New York, their mind nearly always goes to one of three regions. The city, Long Island, or “Upstate”. Tell anyone you’re from New York, and there’s a very good chance they won’t place you anywhere north of Albany. But much to their surprise and to the surprise of my fellow New Yorkers living in the capital region or the city, there are in fact people up north. Regardless of whether you live an hour outside of Manhattan or fifteen minutes from the Canadian border like me, it goes without saying that New York is a very expensive state to live in. Consistently it is ranked one of the most expensive in the Union. Living nearly my entire life in one of New York’s poorest counties has given me firsthand experience in the effects of neoliberal policies on our nation’s poor people.
As a certified nursing assistant working for the local nursing home, I am one of those poor people.
If there is anyone in this country who is overworked and underpaid, CNA’s are most definitely among them. As a CNA who is paid by my company through a medicare grant, I started out making $11.00 an hour once I got my state certification. Well over a year later, I now…
