NYC Mayor Adams Hikes Lifeguard Pay Over 20% Amid Staff Shortage
- Starting wage boosted to $19.46 from $16 in deal with union
- Staff levels at little over half the park department’s goal
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New York City Mayor Eric Adams struck a deal with the city’s lifeguard union to raise starting wages by more than 20% to $19.46 per hour amid mounting complaints about a drastic staffing shortage at public pools.
The wage hike, first reported by NBC 4 New York on Friday, aims to curb a shortage that has left the city’s 53 pools and 15 miles (24 kilometers) of beaches with only 778 total lifeguards, just over half of the Parks Department’s stated goal of over 1,400. The boost from the previous $16 wage, negotiated by the mayor’s office since pools opened last week, applies for this summer only, though lifeguards who work each week through the end of the season are promised a $1,000 retention bonus.