Pittsfield-based Greylock Federal Credit Union has joined other businesses and financial institutions in evaluating the wages for employees in the lowest-paying jobs.
Greylock Federal Credit Union and its insurance subsidiary, Greylock Insurance Agency, will now pay $16.50 per hour as their corporate minimum wage, Greylock said in a statement. The credit union has also adjusted the salaries of all employees making less than $20 per hour.
“Our vision is to enable our community to thrive and that means starting with our own team,” Greylock’s president and CEO, John L. Bissell, said in the statement. “As a major employer in the area, we try to lead by example and listen to our employees’ needs. We have designed a pay and benefits package that reflects our lived culture.”
Increasing minimum wages is considered a tool for helping address income inequalities. Bank of America announced last week it would raise its minimum hourly pay to $25 by 2025.
The current minimum wage in Massachusetts is $13.50. The minimum rate has increased annually since a state law was enacted in 2018 to raise the minimum to $15 in 2023. Greylock said it had set its minimum rate at $15 in 2016.
The pandemic and social unrest have increased awareness of the effects of income inequalities.
“This past year has given Greylock an opportunity to recognize the need to find more effective solutions to support our staff,” Bissell said. “We knew it was important to lead with compassion as we help our staff meet the new challenges of life after the pandemic.”
Bissell added that Greylock is one of the few employers that still offers a pension plan in addition to a 401(k) plan with an employer match. He also pointed to other
Greylock said its human resources team has developed other benefits package for its staff, including a program that lets new parents bring their babies to work, a stipend to help cover childcare costs, a tuition reimbursement program, a student loan assistance benefit and ongoing professional development opportunities.
“We want to find solutions that go beyond just a paycheck,” said Bissell. “We want to help our employees with the tools they need to build a life and a future inside and outside of the workplace.”
Greylock has nearly 300 employees, according to first quarter data submitted to the National Credit Union Administration. The NCUA defines a full-time employee as working 26 hours or more, and 95 percent of Greylock’s employees were classified as full-time.
With about 92,000 members, Greylock has branches in Pittsfield, Great Barrington, Lee, Adams, North Adams, Williamstown, Lanesborough and Lenox, as well as Greenport, New York. Greylock Insurance Agency has six locations in Berkshire County and two in Westfield. The credit union has a Low-Income Designation from the NCUA and is certified as a Community Development Financial Institution.
