New York City’s child care centers say it’s increasingly difficult to hire and retain workers because they make thousands of dollars less than their counterparts employed by the city’s public schools, who often work fewer hours.

The disparities are so stark that a teacher with a master’s degree working in a center-based community program can earn an average of about $14,000 less than an early childhood educator employed by the city’s Department of Education, according to a survey of center-based providers conducted by the nonprofit United Neighborhood Houses late last year.

But in ongoing contract negotiations with three local unions representing child care workers, publicly funded providers are urging city officials to fix the pay gap. They say the stakes are higher than ever as most New York City families can’t afford the cost of child care and are relying on exactly the type of programming that these centers generally provide: year-round services with longer hours for working parents.

The Department of Education offers 3-K and pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds while also contracting and funding nonprofit community providers that have subsidized programming for infants to 5-year-olds.

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