New York City’s seasonal lifeguards will get a raise when pools and beaches open this summer, the parks department said Wednesday. The move comes after staffing shortages roped off large sections of city pools and left some beach areas unsupervised last year.
Lifeguards can expect to earn $22 an hour during this year’s swimming season, according to new contract terms that parks officials unveiled alongside the local lifeguards union, which is part of District Council 37, the city’s largest municipal union.
The raise follows one last season that brought lifeguard starting wages from roughly $19 to $21 an hour amid a worsening lifeguard shortage that threatened public safety at beaches and pools.
DC 37’s Executive Director Henry Garrido said it was crucial for the union to push for a $22 hourly wage for seasonal workers to attract talent, in light of a similar increase offered by the state at New York-owned properties.
“We were competing with McDonald’s and Whole Foods and other places that were paying significantly more,” he said in an interview. “There were a lot of lifeguards in New York City that were going to state facilities operating in New York City. So matching that $22 an hour was really important.”
Returning lifeguards and chief lifeguards who work at least four days a week on average through peak season — July 14 to Aug. 25 — will receive a $1,000 bonus as part of the deal.
The city’s lifeguard shortage came to a head in summer 2022, coinciding with a nationwide scarcity of lifeguards that was on display at highly trafficked local beaches. Mayor Eric Adams temporarily boosted wages that summer to $19 an hour, which the city later made permanent. The city has continued to build on it following criticism that Adams had not initially done enough to reverse the shortage.
Gothamist reported last summer that more pool lanes were being closed off and more swimming programs were being canceled amid the lifeguard shortage.
Local news outlet The…
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