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City employees in Newport News and Virginia Beach don’t make enough to support a family, report finds

Daily Press - 11/17/2021

A recent report by a nonprofit advocacy group found many city employees in Virginia Beach and Newport News could not afford to support a family in the city where they work.

The report, released last month by The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, includes new analyses of public employee salaries in Virginia Beach and Newport News compared to the cost of living in those cities.

The analysis was done at the request of employees leading campaigns to allow collective bargaining in the two cities.

“Newport News and Virginia Beach city employees aren’t able to afford to live in the community where they work,” said Briana Jones, one of the report’s authors.

Collective bargaining is the negotiation process between an employer and a union with the intention of coming to an agreement regarding terms of employment such as work conditions, salary and benefits.

To afford the standard of living in Newport News for a single person, an employee would need to make $37,793, according to the report. One out of every six full-time city employees makes less than that amount.

When the study was narrowed to non-managerial positions in front-line departments such as general services, human services, libraries and waterworks, it found more than 25% of workers do not make enough to maintain a “basic yet decent quality of life in Newport News.”

The Commonwealth Institute used the Economic Policy Institute’s family budget calculator to determine the income needed for a “modest yet adequate” standard of living.

The Economic Policy Institute takes into account housing, food, transportation, taxes and other necessities such as clothing, phone service, reading materials and furniture.

In Virginia Beach, a single employee needs to make $43,451 to support themselves with a quality standard of living, but four out of 10 employees make less than that, according to the report.

When it comes to supporting a family, the analysis found that nine out of 10 employees in Virginia Beach and five out of six employees in Newport News do not make enough to maintain the standard of living if they have children.

The report found a person with one child in Newport News needs to make at least $57,147. When adding a second child, the figure rises to $70,584. In Virginia Beach, the salary requirements are $65,000 and $82,361, respectively.

“Just to live in this city with one child, you need to be making no less than $57,000 — there aren’t too many here who make that and actually do the groundwork,” said Terence Harrell, Newport News solid waste equipment operator.

Harrell says he has several coworkers who have taken second jobs to pay their bills or who have to live somewhere outside of Newport News.

“They classify us as essential workers, but we definitely don’t see essential pay,” Harrell said. ”You should be able to work and then go home to your family.”

Virginia Beach is conducting a market salary survey with Segal — a benefits and human resources company — to evaluate its pay and benefit offerings, according to city spokeswoman Tiffany Russell. The results of the survey are expected in the spring.

In addition to financial compensation, Virginia Beach announced in October it would begin offering other perks to retain employees including additional paid time off, parental leave, pandemic bonuses and stipends for acquiring certifications.

Pending the findings of its survey results, Russell said the city will consider increasing compensation as well as other offerings including childcare, student loan assistance and increased flexibility to complete 80 hours of work over two weeks.

Newport News did not respond to an inquiry by press time Wednesday.

The Commonwealth Institute’s study was released in October — a few months after Virginia lifted its ban on local governments allowing collective bargaining, municipal and county workers. State law says employees can’t organize until a local elected body gives them permission.

In late September, the Virginia Beach City Council began research into the cost and implications of allowing employees to collectively bargain. It has not yet held a vote on whether to allow it.

The matter has not yet been before the Newport News City Council, but in October organizing committee leaders met with Newport News City Councilman David Jenkins.

Jessica Nolte, 757-912-1675, jnolte@dailypress.com

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