After months of pushing for higher wages, starting pay is increasing for newly hired Children and Youth Service workers in Cambria county.
All three of the Cambria county Commissioners voted in favor of raising starting wages Thursday morning, in hopes it will attract more workers.
“We made progress and this is a great first step”.
We first met Ashley Cullen-Bandzuh at the July Cambria county commissioners meeting, where county case workers called for higher wages as more than half of C.Y.S positions remained vacant.
And finally, Cullen-Bandzuh says she received some good news, the starting pay for new workers will be increasing from $14.83 per hour to $19 per hour.
C.Y.S workers believe being able to offer competitive wages could interest a lot of people in case work and hopefully get them to stay in the industry.
Cullen-Bandzuh says, “we’re really happy about that”.
Tom Chernisky, the President Commissioner of Cambria county says, “This is a win for taxpayers of Cambria county and Children and Youth workers”.
Chernisky says everyday is a budget day and, “by reviewing the budget, looking at the budget, thinking out of the box and working with everybody”.
The commissioners were able to raise the starting wages which Chernisky says is, “A way to help recruit and retain children and youth workers and protect the taxpayers of Cambria county. So, this was a win for everybody”.
Cullen-bandzuh says there still is a ways to go, but, “Hopefully this is just a light at the end of the tunnel and I’m hoping that people can see the big picture”.
Chernisky adds, “A lot of things are still in negotiations and refer everything to our H.R. department, H.R. solicitor and more news to come in the next few months.”
The next Cambria county Commissioners meeting is scheduled for December 8th.