January Currents Issue,  2005

Influencing the Lives of Low-Income Workers

Andrea Vaghy, CSW, Director of Workforce Development, Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation

When we think of social work and the world of work, our first thoughts are usually of employee assistance programs and corporate human resources settings. In more recent years, we might also think of welfare reform, workfare and attempts to engage public assistance recipients in work. This narrow view prevents social workers from realizing the potential impact that our profession might make if we explored the full spectrum of the world of work. Social work, with its commitment to social justice, social action and macro level change, has the opportunity to influence the lives of millions of low-income working people and to change the face of the current work environment for low-wage workers in the United States and globally.

I am confronted daily with the ever changing world of work, its effects on low-wage workers and the efforts of low-income individuals to adapt to the changing work environment and find employment opportunities. My work is to help public assistance

recipients, immigrants and other low-income job seekers enter into the workforce and become economically self-sufficient. Instead of working with clients simply to maintain government assistance and prevent homelessness, I have the opportunity to help individuals learn and grow as they complete training programs, become employed and, hopefully, achieve economic self-sufficiency.

Our programs and staff provide vocational skills training, English language and adult education classes, career counseling and professional development, job placement and post-placement job retention services. We are also involved in advocacy efforts around living wage legislation, job creation, and funding for education and training, which are essential, for low-wage workers to move out of poverty. The skill sets and knowledge I gained in social work school serve me well–whether I am conducting a client assessment, advocating with an employer to pay a higher wage, researching labor market trends, developing new vocational programs or evaluating the effectiveness of the work I do.

Surprisingly, in the field of workforce development, I am one of the few masters- level social workers. Most staff are BSWs, professionals from other disciplines and even former clients. Social workers could be a tremendous asset in moving the field of workforce development forward. Everyday, I see clients with mental health issues, substance abuse, and other major barriers to employment being forced into work programs and dead end, minimum-wage jobs. This only highlights the need for social workers, skilled in interviewing, assessment and advocacy, who could assist these clients in addressing the challenges that prevent their full participation and advancement in the workforce.

At the macro level, social workers are also critically needed to push for living wage legislation, to fight against corporations who deny workers basic rights, and to advocate with government officials to develop and implement long-term job creation and retention solutions. The world of work provides the opportunity to realize the true mission of the social work profession in which we are working as partners with our clients to assist them in becoming empowered members of society.

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