Washington Heights — Workers at a Washington Heights day care center serving more than 100 children are threatening to strike and are preparing to sue one of northern Manhattan’s largest non-profit organizations for not paying their salaries on time.

The 19 workers of La Familia Unida, a city-funded day care center run by the 24-year-old Alianza Dominicana, have not been paid regularly since April 2010, but instead have received back wages in dribbles.

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Charu Sudan Kasturi
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Documents show that while the workers received some back wages on Sept. 15, they still haven’t been paid for the last three pay periods – equivalent to a month and a half.

"I've had enough," says Juana Hidalgo, one of the workers, who says that when Alianza earlier this year fell five pay periods behind, she had to take an $8,000 loan to pay her bills. "We've tried our best to stay because we also have a responsibility to the kids. But I need to pay my bills." Hidalgo takes home just over $1,000 after taxes per pay period.

The current crisis threatens to directly hurt dozens of low income families who depend on the organization's child care services, and raises larger questions about the city's role in monitoring agencies that receive funding from the Administration of Children's Services.

Promises, but no pay

In a statement in response to queries, the Alianza's acting Executive Director Maria Hernandez confirmed that the organization was struggling to pay workers on time, acknowledging "that the agency has faced challenges over the past year."

Hernandez has also sent emails to all workers, thanking them. "You have tolerated Alianza's financial challenges with tremendous strain on your part," she wrote in an email to employees on August 28, in which she also referred to a Department of Investigation probe into the organization's finances last year.

But while it has praised its workers, Alianza hasn't kept even its most recent commitments to them. The Alianza's official statement promised to pay all back wages by September 25. The date came and went; the wages never arrived for the workers.

Alianza Dominicana received $8,893,592 in grants from the city in 2009-10, out of its total revenue of $14,712,972 for the year, its financial statement shows. The non-profit organization made net earnings of $2,967,706 that year.

But the city suspended funding for the organization last year after the Department of Investigation began a probe into the non-profit organization's finances over corruption allegations against its then executive director, Moises Perez.

DOI finds 'self-dealing'

The investigation looked into allegations that Perez had invested in a fund – linked to a Board member – that issued loans to struggling organizations. The Alianza, it was alleged, turned to this very fund for a loan, financially benefiting Perez and two other Board members, Nasry Michelen and Walid Michelen, who had also invested in this loan fund.

The Department of Investigation found the allegations correct.

It concluded that Perez earned $5,878.40 as interest on his $150,000 investment from the loan – though Perez had earlier told investigators he made no money from the scheme, the findings of the Department of Investigation say. No charges were brought against him, but Perez was forced to quit.

In June this year, however, the Administration for Children's Services (ACS) resumed its funding to the Alianza for La Familia Unida, Michael Fagan, a spokesman for the city's childcare agency says.