Social workers must stop being silent
Social worker Steve Perry’s speech was broadcast on CSPAN.
Renowned social worker, educator and author Steven Perry said social workers should stop being silent and get more involved in politics.
That is because social workers work with people from all walks of society and can propose legislative or regulatory changes to help them, Perry said in a June speech at an annual social workers conference of the Whitney M. Young, Jr. School of Social Work at Clark Atlanta University.
“No one understands more than you because social workers are in communities,” Perry said. “You see a problem before it turns into a problem.”
Steve Perry is a familiar face at SocialWorkersSpeak.org. He talked about his former reality TV show “Save My Son” in 2012 and delivered a special message to social workers in honor of Social Work Month in 2013.
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Similarly, social worker need to stop being silent about insulting wages. Why should McDonald’s workers get to advocate for $15/hr jobs while many social workers nearly qualify for public assistance? HELP US, NASW!
To Burned out Social Worker–McDonald’s workers have every right to push for a $15 wage. Are you a member of your state NASW Chapter? NASW National can only do so much on the national level because wages are often decided by state governments, which employ social workers. I agree social workers need a higher wage. We need loan forgiveness. We need a lot of things, so get involved.
Social workers don’t only work for state governments. They work for non-profits, for-profits, hospitals, etc. Social workers need national and state unions, headed by the NASW. Nurses have them, and look how much they make now with less education than a social worker.
I’ll support McDonald’s workers making $15/hr once I stop reading stories about the MSW barely making $30,000 after 10 years of experience. Or the poor college graduate working a minimum wage job and buried in $200,000 debt. Sorry, but most of us go to college to get out of poverty, not to take a lifetime vow of poverty.