New York City has agreed to raise the wages of lifeguards at municipal beaches and pools from $16 to $19.46 an hour this summer in the face of staffing shortages, which threatened to keep some of these popular entertainment venues closed. to hundreds of people during the hot New York summer.
The agreement, reached with the District Council 37 union, also includes a training program for the staff of 17 small pools throughout the city as well as a bonus of one thousand dollars that will be paid at the end of the season to those who have worked continuously.
“All New Yorkers deserve to safely enjoy our city’s public pools and beaches this summer. My team reached an agreement with the lifeguards union to increase lifeguards’ starting wages to $19.46 per hour and develop a program training to fully staff all 17 of the city’s hot tubs,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a social media message.
Every New Yorker deserves to safely enjoy our city’s public pools and beaches this summer. My team has reached a deal with the lifeguard union to raise starting wages for lifeguards to $19.46 per hour and develop a training program to fully staff the city’s 17 mini pools.
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) July 6, 2022
For his part, the union’s executive director, Henry Garrido, assured in a brief note that this agreement guarantees that “the city’s swimming pools and beaches this summer will be safe and protected by professional security guards who are properly trained to handle any emergency.”
The city’s Parks Department had previously warned of a shortage of lifeguards in a national context of labor shortages.
According to the latest data from the Department of Labor in May, 11.3 million jobs were offered in a market in which 5.95 million unemployed are registered.
During the same month, 4.27 million people voluntarily left their jobs, a trend that began with covid and reached its highest in November 2021 when 4.5 million people decided not to continue working for their companies.
The Lifeguards Union stresses that the agreement reached with the New York City Council “responds to the labor shortage faced by state and municipal bathing places in the United States.”
“Historically low wages and a limited training season due to COVID-19 have resulted in fewer available lifeguards and the closure of several local pools and beaches this year,” the union added.
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