wlm4 at cornell.edu (Will
01-10-1995, 04:46 PM
The most visible way Alternatives Credit Union demonstrates how it's
"alternative" is in our delivery of targeted services to the community. But
there are other important aspects to our commitment to social
responsibility, and one is being a good employer.
At our Strategic Planning meeting in November 1993 we emerged with four main
goals for our five year plan. One of them we called "The Year of the Staff".
With all our concern about serving our membership, the community at large
and our dedication to economic justice, were we fairly serving our staff? In
particular, was beginning staff able to live respectably on their Credit
Union earnings? Board members agreed that part of the mission of the Credit
Union was to create a good workplace.
"I think some of the best work we do has to do with trying to create good
jobs in the local economy. That's one of the purposes of a community based
organization and one of the things we can do well. Initially, the spirit was
to create a good work environment; good jobs, decent benefits and a livable
wage."
Chris Gunn, Board of Directors
We regularly perform a survey of area financial institutions, other
"alternative" businesses and non-profits, and check the national credit
union compensation survey to make sure our salaries are in line. This method
works for comparing salaries for similar levels of responsibility. While
our starting salary of $12,884 (after the three month introductory period)
compared favorably, we were asking another, more important question. Can a
person live in Tompkins County on our starting wage? Not an easy question
to answer, and one which creates many more questions: Questions about
lifestyle, personal choice, about what are "necessities" and what frivolities.
Before the end of last year, staff formed a committee, the "wage watchers"
to look further into the issue. The Board of Directors set aside money (1/3
of raises) in the 1994 budget towards insuring a livable wage. In our
initial efforts we sought to find an existing figure. We queried the UAW,
the Labor Coalition, Cooperative Extension, the Department of Labor. They
had a lot of good ideas about where to look, but we could not find a figure
meaningful to us. We could look at median income, or add some percentage to
poverty income guidelines. We could follow the campaign to raise the minimum
wage to $6/hour. But as the wage watchers proposed, we were looking for a
figure that would be meaningful for Ithaca and surrounding communities. What
did it cost to rent a 1 bedroom apartment, including electricity, heating,
water, garbage and basic telephone service? The committee proposed that our
package of necessities include food, basic transportation, medical care,
clothing, and laundry. In addition, they considered childcare, recreation,
and savings.
"It may seem like a simple thing, but it was a long involved process which
involved deep digging to come up with something that had meaning to peoples
lives, and that could work with the Credit Union budget and other salaries."
Diana Leigh, Wage Watcher
Enter Marcia V. Alleyne, intern extraordinaire from Cornell University. She
gathered data from Census Bureau statistics, Consumer Expenditure survey,
NYS Department of Labor in Binghamton, Tompkins County Area Development,
NYSEG, NY Telephone, Ithaca Day Care Council, Department of Social Services,
Family and Children's Services and Housing Solutions. She provided us with
meaningful figures for the categories laid out by the committee. In the
end, she provided us with a report with this bottom line: For a single
person in Tompkins County the current livable wage appears to be $13,630
without a car, $16,470 with a car.
The Credit Union Board agreed to establish $15,000 as our 1994 Tompkins
County Livable Wage and to pay that wage, at a minimum, to all our staff.
This post transferred from the cdb-l mailing list
"alternative" is in our delivery of targeted services to the community. But
there are other important aspects to our commitment to social
responsibility, and one is being a good employer.
At our Strategic Planning meeting in November 1993 we emerged with four main
goals for our five year plan. One of them we called "The Year of the Staff".
With all our concern about serving our membership, the community at large
and our dedication to economic justice, were we fairly serving our staff? In
particular, was beginning staff able to live respectably on their Credit
Union earnings? Board members agreed that part of the mission of the Credit
Union was to create a good workplace.
"I think some of the best work we do has to do with trying to create good
jobs in the local economy. That's one of the purposes of a community based
organization and one of the things we can do well. Initially, the spirit was
to create a good work environment; good jobs, decent benefits and a livable
wage."
Chris Gunn, Board of Directors
We regularly perform a survey of area financial institutions, other
"alternative" businesses and non-profits, and check the national credit
union compensation survey to make sure our salaries are in line. This method
works for comparing salaries for similar levels of responsibility. While
our starting salary of $12,884 (after the three month introductory period)
compared favorably, we were asking another, more important question. Can a
person live in Tompkins County on our starting wage? Not an easy question
to answer, and one which creates many more questions: Questions about
lifestyle, personal choice, about what are "necessities" and what frivolities.
Before the end of last year, staff formed a committee, the "wage watchers"
to look further into the issue. The Board of Directors set aside money (1/3
of raises) in the 1994 budget towards insuring a livable wage. In our
initial efforts we sought to find an existing figure. We queried the UAW,
the Labor Coalition, Cooperative Extension, the Department of Labor. They
had a lot of good ideas about where to look, but we could not find a figure
meaningful to us. We could look at median income, or add some percentage to
poverty income guidelines. We could follow the campaign to raise the minimum
wage to $6/hour. But as the wage watchers proposed, we were looking for a
figure that would be meaningful for Ithaca and surrounding communities. What
did it cost to rent a 1 bedroom apartment, including electricity, heating,
water, garbage and basic telephone service? The committee proposed that our
package of necessities include food, basic transportation, medical care,
clothing, and laundry. In addition, they considered childcare, recreation,
and savings.
"It may seem like a simple thing, but it was a long involved process which
involved deep digging to come up with something that had meaning to peoples
lives, and that could work with the Credit Union budget and other salaries."
Diana Leigh, Wage Watcher
Enter Marcia V. Alleyne, intern extraordinaire from Cornell University. She
gathered data from Census Bureau statistics, Consumer Expenditure survey,
NYS Department of Labor in Binghamton, Tompkins County Area Development,
NYSEG, NY Telephone, Ithaca Day Care Council, Department of Social Services,
Family and Children's Services and Housing Solutions. She provided us with
meaningful figures for the categories laid out by the committee. In the
end, she provided us with a report with this bottom line: For a single
person in Tompkins County the current livable wage appears to be $13,630
without a car, $16,470 with a car.
The Credit Union Board agreed to establish $15,000 as our 1994 Tompkins
County Livable Wage and to pay that wage, at a minimum, to all our staff.
This post transferred from the cdb-l mailing list