THE UNHEARD THIRD 2006: BRINGING THE VOICES OF LOW-INCOME NEW YORKERS TO THE POLICY DEBATE

1. THE UNHEARD THIRD 2006:BRINGING THE VOICES OF LOW-INCOME NEW YORKERSTO THE POLICY DEBATE • Briefing by Nancy Rankin for the Summit on Economic Class and the Work-Family Dilemma: Solutions for All New Yorkers, February 2, 2007 • This is one of a series of reports based on findings from the fifth annual citywide survey of 1,230 lower-incomeNew York City residents and 500 moderate- and higher-income New Yorkers with an oversample of 158 immigrants. The margin of error is +/- 2.8% for the low-income sample and +/- 4.4% for the moderate and higher income sample; the margin of error is greater for subgroups. The survey was administered for Community Service Society of New York by Lake Research Partners between July 16 and August 3, 2006 and August 23 and August 27, 2006. • For complete findings visit www.cssny.org/research/unheardthird.

2. OVERVIEW SURVEY REVEALS MOST OF NYC’S WORKING POOR DO NOT GET EVEN A SINGLE PAID SICK DAY For low-income workers with meager savings, that means tough choices between going to work sick or losing a day’s pay, falling behind on the bills and risking job loss. Of the City’s working poor, almost two-thirds (65%) or 221,000 workers report having no paid sick days; close to half of near-poor (45%) and nearly a third (32%) of moderate-higher income workers also lack sick days 7 out of 10 New Yorkers – across incomes – say it’s time to make paid sick leave a basic right for all workers

3. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 PERCENT 2006 FINDINGS MANY WORKERS – AND MOSTOF THE WORKING POOR -- LACK EVEN A SINGLE PAID SICK DAY Q33. Which of the following benefits, if any, do you receive from your employer…paid sick leave? Percent of workers with paid sick days Poor 35% Near Poor 55% 68% Mod-High Poor (0 to 100% of FPL) Mod-High income (> 200% of FPL) Near Poor (101 to 200% of FPL)

4. 2006 FINDINGS LOW-INCOME WORKERS MORE LIKELY TO HOLD PART-TIME JOBS; BUT THAT EXPLAINS ONLY PART OF THE GAP Q28. Are you currently employed full-time, employed part-time, unemployed, retired, a homemaker, or a full-time student? Part-time Full-time 61% 39% Poor 22% 78% Near Poor 17% 83% Mod-High Poor Mod-High income Near Poor

5. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 PERCENT 2006 FINDINGS EVEN AMONG THOSE IN FULL-TIME JOBS, MOST OF THE WORKING POOR DON’T HAVE PAID SICK DAYS Q33. Which of the following benefits, if any, do you receive from your employer… paid sick leave? Percent with paid sick days All workers 35% Poor 55% Near Poor 68% Mod-High Full-time workers 44% Poor Near Poor 64% 74% Mod-High Poor Mod-High income Near Poor

6. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 PERCENT 2006 FINDINGS NYC’S LOW-INCOME WORKERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE EMPLOYED BY SMALL FIRMS Q29. Approximately how many people would you say work at your current place of employment? RESPONSES OF THE EMPLOYED* Number of coworkers 34% Less than 15 24% 18% 21% 15-49 19% 17% 38% 50 or more 54% 61% *Excludes workers who are self-employed or responded “don’t know” Poor Mod-High income Near Poor

7. 53% 61% 38% 68% 75% . 56% 43% 25% 60% 44% 36% 55% 2006 FINDINGS WORKERS IN SMALL FIRMS LESS LIKELY TO GET SICK DAYS; LIKELIHOOD GOES DOWN AS INCOME DECLINES Q33. Which of the following benefits, if any, do you receive from your employer…paid sick leave? RESPONSES OF THE EMPLOYED* e.g., Of the 61% of moderate to high income workers employed by firms with 50 or more employees, 75% receive paid sick days. Poor Mod-High Near Poor More than 50 workers Firm size Less than 50 workers *Excludes workers who are self-employed or responded “don’t know” Solid colors represents proportion with paid sick days

8. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 PERCENT 2006 FINDINGS MOST LOW-INCOME WORKING MOMS –THE PRIME FAMILY CAREGIVERS – DON’T GET ANY PAID SICK DAYS Q33. Which of the following benefits, if any, do you receive from your employer…paid sick leave? Percent getting paid sick leave All low-income working mothers 48% Low-income, single working mothers 44% Mod-high income working mothers 70%

9. 2006 FINDINGS LOSING A DAY’S PAY HAS STARK CONSEQUENCES FOR WORKERS WITH ALMOST NO SAVINGS Q87. If tough times were to hit you and your family, how much money in savings do you have to fall back on? Low-income single All low-income Low-income workers working moms workerswithout paid sick days 31% 28% 46% <$100 43% 41% 54% 12% 13% 8% $100-$500

10. 2006 FINDINGS LACK OF PAID SICK DAYS COMPOUNDS PROBLEMS FACING UNINSURED WORKERS • Among low-income workers surveyed . . . • A third were uninsured for part or all of the previous year and • 19% are currently uninsured (with no health coverage from employer • or a public program like Medicaid) • 54% have no paid sick days, and • 14% have neither paid sick days nor health insurance (at time of survey) • Of those without sick days and health coverage: • 40% experienced 3 or more hardships in the past year such as falling behind on rent, not being able to fill a needed prescription, having the lights or phone turned off, or not being able to afford food.

11. FOCUS GROUP FINDINGS LOW-WAGE NEW YORKERS STRUGGLE TO COPE WITHOUT PAID SICK DAYS OR HEALTH BENEFITS • Here’s what non-union security guards in Manhattan office buildings told us: • “Gotta go to work even if I’m sick.” • “My new company said if you want medical benefits you will have to pay x dollars a month. You wind up paying half your paycheck to get benefits . . . but I haven’t done that yet. I just pray and hope I’m all right.” • “You don’t work, you don’t get paid.” • “I got sick and I went to the hospital and they charged me $1,000, so I have to work to pay that off . . . which will take me about a year. I have to pay it.” • Source: Shortchanging Security: How Poor Training, Low Pay and Lack of Job Protection for Security Guards Undermine Public Safety in New York City, by Nancy Rankin and Mark Levitan, CSS Report, 2006.

12. . . . AND IT’S NOT JUST THE WORKERS WHO GET SICK; WORKING CONDITIONS TAKE A TOLL ON PUBLIC HEALTH • Among 530 restaurant workers surveyed in 2003, the NYC Restaurant Industry Coalition found: 84% did not get paid sick days; 73% had no health insurance • “ I don’t have health insurance and I don’t get sick days . . . I can’t afford medical bills nor can I afford to miss work so I never go to the doctor. . . I always have a bad cold but do I have a choice? I really can’t afford to miss work – my sisters at home depend on me.” George, Dishwasher1 • “ I have no choice but to work when I am sick . . . I am in constant contact with the food served and I prepare the drinks.” • Waitress at Upper West Side restaurant2 • Sources: Reports by the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York and the NYC Restaurant Industry Coalition • 1Behindthe Kitchen Door: Pervasive Inequality in New York City’s Thriving Restaurant Industry, Jan. 25, 2005, p 18. • 2Dining Out, Dining Healthy: The Link Between Public Health and Working Conditions in New York City’s RestaurantIndustry, April 2006, p.6.

13. THE BOTTOM LINE: BUSINESS CAN AFFORD TO DO THIS AND CAN’T AFFORD NOT TO • Presenteeism imposes costs on businesses and taxpayers: • Lowers productivity, extends illness and spreads contagion • Increases turnover costs • Sending sick children to school spreads illness • Workers unable to keep medical appointments can end up using • costlier ER or become disabled from chronic conditions like diabetes • The “abuse myth”: Workers with 7 paid sick days miss an average of 1.8 days annually for illness (excl.maternity) (Source: NHIS data cited by Vicky Lovell, Institute for Women’s Policy Research) • Many firms provide sick days now . . . and they stay in business.

14. Mod-HighIncome Low Income 2006 FINDINGS NEW YORKERS SUPPORT A LAW REQUIRING EMPLOYERS TO PROVIDE PAID SICK DAYS Q22. Which comes closer to your view? RESPONSES* There should be a law that requires employers to give full-time workers at least 7 days of paid sick leave annually so workers don’t have to choose between losing their pay or going to work sick, sending sick children to school or leaving them alone. In this economy, a law that requires employers to give full-time workers at least 7 days of paid sick leavewill be too costly for some businesses forcing them to cut jobs or increase prices and is not practical for all small businesses. 72% 69% 21% 22% *Percents may not add up to 100 because excludes those who responded “don’t know.”

15. 80 74 66 72 71 66 61 58 50 2006 FINDINGS SUPPORT FOR PAID SICK DAYS VARIES SLIGHTLY BY GROUP BUT IS GENERALLY VERY STRONG Favor a law that requires workers to give full-time workers at least 7 days of paid sick leave annually RESPONSES for ALL INCOME LEVELS Black women Women Men Registered voters Democrats Republicans Hispanic men Traditional men Less than high school men • 0 20 40 60 80 100 • PERCENT

16. 2005 FINDINGS PUBLIC FAVORS EXTENDING STATE DISABILITY INSURANCE (TDI) TO PROVIDE PAID LEAVE Q60 and Q62. Employees in New York State are currently covered by state disability insurance… Would you favor or oppose extending the system to provide… RESPONSES* Oppose Favor Q60. …paid leave to care for a new baby or seriously ill family member? All New Yorkers 9% 34% 6% 15% 42% 76% 9% 14% 5% Black and Hispanic New Yorkers 35% 44% 79% Q62. …up to 12 weeks of paid leave to care for a new baby or seriously ill family member if it meant $1.00 a week would be deducted from your paycheck? All New Yorkers 30% 39% 69% 21% 9% 12% 19% 8% 11% 30% 40% 70% Black and Hispanic New Yorkers *Percents add up to less than 100 because those who responded “don’t know” are excluded Somewhat Oppose Strongly Oppose Somewhat Favor Strongly Favor

17. recommendations Rx FOR PROGRESS: WORKERS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THEIR HEALTH AND THEIR LIVELIHOODS • Proposed federal legislation: The Healthy Families Act • (Senator Edward Kennedy and Representative Rosa DeLauro) • Provides 7 days paid sick leave/year for full-time employees and pro-rata amount for part-time workers • For own illness, medical care or to care for family member • Covers employers with at least 15 employees and employees who work at least 20 hours/wk or 1000 hours/yr • By 61%, San Francisco voters approved a ballot initiative Nov. 2006 • All workers earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked to care for their own or a family member’s health • Big business would provide up to 9 sick days; firms <10 workers would provide up to 5 days

18. METHODOLOGY HOW THE SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED Telephone interviews with 1888 residents using random digit dialing (July 16 - August 3, 2006 and August 23 - August 27, 2006). 1,230 low-income (poor and near-poor below 200% of poverty level) 500 moderate and higher income New Yorkers 158 over-sample of low-income immigrants Totals show low-income weighted down to actual share of NYC pop. Surveys conducted in English, Spanish, and Chinese Margin of error: low-income +/- 2.8%; mod-higher income +/- 4.4%; the margin of error is greater for subgroups. Survey administered by Lake Research Partners, national pollsters

19. COMMUNITY SERVICE SOCIETY OF NEW YORK For 160 years, the Community Service Society has promoted economic advancement for low-income New Yorkers through research, advocacy and innovation. CSS is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, organization. Funding for this research was provided by United Way of New York City and the New York Community Trust. A Report from CSS POLICY RESEARCH Director of Policy Research Nancy Rankin Mark Levitan, Senior Labor Policy AnalystSabine Salandy, Policy AnalystDon Friedman, Senior Public Benefits Policy Analyst Victor Bach, Senior Housing Policy AnalystThomas Waters, Policy Analyst Denise Soffel,Senior Health Policy Analyst Claire Homitzky, Research Analyst Community Service Society of New York David R. Jones, President Janet W. Thompson, Board Chairperson 105 E. 22nd St. New York, NY 10010Contact: Nancy Rankin 212-614-5309 Presentation design: Linda Josefowicz

20. DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF LOW-INCOME SAMPLE Age Under 30 25% 30-39 25% 40-49 19% 50-64 16% 65 and over 13% Household Composition With child under age of 19 41% No children under age 19 56% Marital Status Married 32% Unmarried with partner 10% Single 35% Separated/divorced 13% Widowed 8% Work Status Employed full-time 46% Employed part-time 12% Unemployed 13% Retired 13% Homemaker 8% Student 2% Education Status Less than HS 22% High school graduate 39% GED 1% Non-college post HS 5% Some college 16% Associate degree 5% College graduate 7% Post-graduate 2% Party Identification Democrat 48% Independent 15% Republican 10% Other / don’t know 19% • Gender • Men 44% • Women 56% • Race / Ethnicity • White 18% • Black 36% • Hispanic 34% • Asian 7% • Other 1% • Immigrant Status • Native born 62% • Immigrant 36% • Don’t know 2% • Income Level • Poor (<100 of FPL%) 52% • Near Poor (100-199%) 48% • Region • Bronx 23% • Manhattan 17% • Brooklyn 37% • Staten Island 2% • Queens 21% Note: Survey was fielded July 16-August 3, 2006 and August 23-August 27, 2006.