In this mini episode, we return to the urgent question at the heart of nearly every workforce conversation: wages—and whether working New Yorkers can actually afford to live in the city they serve.

Michelle Jackson, Executive Director of the Human Services Council of New York, joins us again for a discussion about the growing number of wage justice campaigns unfolding across the city and state. From #JustPay to Living Wage for All NY, fair pay for home care, childcare, and beyond, the two unpack what it takes to align movements that share the same goal but often move on parallel tracks.

Michelle reflects on the responsibility of coalition leadership in a moment when coordination matters more than ever—why rowing in the same direction (and ideally the same canoe) is essential to building power, avoiding fragmentation, and making real progress toward a true cost-of-living wage. The conversation digs into hard realities, including wage compression, business concerns, subminimum wages for tipped workers, workers with disabilities, formerly incarcerated people, and youth, and why those most often left out must be centered in economic justice efforts.

The episode also confronts the often-overlooked benefits cliff—how raises can unintentionally put families at risk of losing essential supports—and why imperfect progress is still progress if the sector is willing to move together.

Published by: New York City Employment and Training Coalition (NYCETC)

Produced by: Manhattan Neighborhood Network