Berks Children and Youth workers
rally for better pay
Union leader says low wages are causing employees to
quit, putting children at risk.
WRITTEN BY NICOLE C. BRAMBILA
READING, PA —
Richelle S. Smith sat and cried at her desk last week
when yet another Berks County Children and Youth Services coworker resigned.
Smith was one of about 50 CYS employees who rallied
Wednesday outside the Berks County Services Center.
Carrying homemade purple and yellow signs that read
"support workers' rights" and "my outrage can't fit on this
sign!" employees marched outside the services center to call attention to
staff churn and low pay.
"We're not just losing young staff, we're losing
tenured staff, and that puts children at risk," said Smith, chief steward
with the Local 668 Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, adding that
many employees, herself included, hold second jobs to make ends meet.
TODAY'S SPONSOR:
The local union is in contract negotiations with the
county.
Berks Solicitor Christine M. Sadler said the county does
not discuss ongoing negotiations, but added that "the county takes the
safety of children in Berks County very seriously."
County employee concerns echoed the findings in a
scathing report of Pennsylvania's welfare system that state Auditor General
Eugene DePasquale delivered last year, concluding low pay, heavy caseloads and
"breath-taking turnover rates" meant at-risk kids were not safe. In
2016 alone, Berks County received more than 1,300 reports of suspected child
abuse, of which 148 were substantiated. And four Berks children died that year,
according to the Department of Human Services annual report, the latest
available.
Contact Nicole C. Brambila: 610-371-5044 or nbrambila@readingeagle.com.
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