Filling Gaps to Serve NYC Workers
Astoria Worker Project convened a meeting of community stakeholders this summer to develop stronger cohesion in the local social service ecosystem.
The pandemic left low wage workers more exposed to labor abuse and precarity. It also shined the light on longstanding gaps in the social services meant to support New York’s working families.
These are two key takeaways from recent reports commissioned by CWE’s Astoria Worker Project and authored by Center for New York City Affairs at The New School and the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. The reports -- one data driven and the other seeking qualitative evidence from focus groups -- reveal the challenges that workers are facing today, particularly those who are participating in the gig economy that was turbocharged by the pandemic.
We surveyed 415 gig workers in Western Queens, representing a diverse range of jobs, from food delivery workers and taxi drivers, to graphic designers and software developers. For those on the lower end of the income spectrum, the independent contractor status brings more hardship than opportunity.
“Corporations are misclassifying these employees as independent contractors,” says Noah Meixler, Project Director of the Astoria Worker Project. “They get all the ills of being a freelancer and none of the benefits.”
One-third of participants said they were unsure if they would be able to pay rent this month.
Many are recently arrived immigrants who have been prevented from working legally, so they seek out these under-the-table gig jobs that are ripe for mistreatment.
The survey also revealed that high and low income gig workers alike have had their labor rights violated, with the majority of respondents going so far as to file complaints. Still, it is likely that even this high rate of complaints undercounts the extent of the problem, with many gig workers being new to the city and not speaking English fluently.
The focus groups of community stakeholders showed the gaps in services that protect these workers -- and the challenges workers face in finding the services that exist.
During a focus group conversation with workers from a local NYCHA property, a resident commented “people don’t know where to go for work resources or learning.” This informed a major finding of the report – that there is a need in expanded communication and networking to strengthen ties between local nonprofits, mutual aid networks, public services, volunteer organizations, advocacy groups and unions, to build trust and cultivate general wellbeing.
This summer, Astoria Worker Project convened a meeting of community organizations, unions, and elected officials to begin breaking apart these silos and developing stronger cohesion in the local social service ecosystem. The next step is forming a community committee to facilitate ongoing feedback, collaboration, and engagement – an undertaking that will require all parties to take ownership and leadership to be successful.
Astoria Worker Project is also planning a suite of new classes to respond to the other needs identified by the focus groups. The programs will cover business finance skills so gig workers can succeed in their own businesses; English, Know Your Rights, and Navigating New York classes to give workers the foundation to succeed; leadership and development classes to help grow strong organizations to support workers; and classes to help worker-owned cooperative businesses develop and thrive.
Astoria Worker Project is grateful to the organizations who helped recruit workers to be surveyed and who participated in the focus groups.
The authors of the two reports published an op-ed in City & State detailing their findings and suggesting policy and programmatic remedies to address the dire issues facing these workers. Read it here.