Tompkins County (NY) Workers' Center

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The majority of the work done by the Workers' Center is supported by donations from people like you.

Featured Member

Melanie Serrou

Melanie Serrou is a college student "who loves to learn but gets sick of the classroom. When I see my progress and change is when I feel accomplished. As I strive for my goals, my friends and family are my fortitude." Melanie interns with the Workers' Center.

Affiliations

Service Learning in Social Justice

This program provides service learning opportunities about social justice for hundreds of university, college, and secondary schools students in Tompkins County. We provide internships and volunteer experiences, and deliver programs about social justice both in classrooms and in the community.

» Contact us for more information

Become a Member of the Workers' Center

Take the pledge: During the next year, I'LL BE THERE at least five times for someone else's fight as well as my own. If enough of us are there, we'll all start winning.

» Take Action
» Become a member

A member is someone who believes:

We all deserve to have good jobs with good wages so we can live decently.
We all deserve rights and fair treatment as workers.
Healthcare is a right -- everybody should have affordable and comprehensive access to it.
We all deserve livable and affordable housing

Justice for Hotel Workers Campaign

The hotel industry in Ithaca employs over 600 workers. Each hotel sets its own pay scale but the general wage is in the $7.15-8.00 range. This is well below a living wage in Tompkins County.

» Read the fact sheet
» Sign the pledge
» Contact us for more information

Living Wage Employer Certification

We are seeking to publicly recognize and reward employers in the private, public and non-profit sectors that do pay a living wage, and to provide market-based rewards and incentives for them and others that would like to do so.

» Employer Certification

Featured Employer

Day Care & Child Development Council of Tompkins County
609 W. Clinton Street, Ithaca

For a list of living wage employers, view the certification page.

Join Our Health Care for All Campaign

The Workers' Center is committed to the principle that everyone has the right to comprehensive health care (in fact, this right is guaranteed to us by U.S signature, in 1948, to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights). Too many people are dying, put into bankruptcy, and are suffering due to a health care system that puts profits first.

» Sign our petition
» Contact us to learn more or get involved

The Tompkins County Workers' Center is a Project Partner of the CRESP Center for Transformative Action

Know your rights!

Download the Workers' Rights Handbook by clicking here and be sure you're aware of the rights you have as a worker.

» Contact us with questions
» Join our mailing list
» Track your hours and pay

What's a Living Wage?

A Living Wage is the amount of income and resources (such as health insurance) needed for an individual or family to meet its basic needs without public or private assistance. According to a study done for 2009 by Alternatives Federal Credit Union, a single individual without children needs $23,103.87 for the year ($11.11/hour for a 40-hour week). Without health insurance, a Living Wage would be $12.11/hour (or $25,188.80 for the full year). This is based on what it would cost for person to purchase Healthy New York.