Contra Costa County Homecare Workers to Rally for Fair Wages and Benefits
Posted on: Tuesday, 6 December 2005, 12:00 CST
MARTINEZ, Calif., Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, December 6, In Home Supportive Service (IHSS) workers, clients, and community allies will testify in front of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors (BOS) to demand that their wages be brought to the current standard of pay received by providers in surrounding counties.
The approximately 5,000 Contra Costa County IHSS workers currently earn $9.50 per hour and have not received a raise or cost of living adjustment in the last three years. Meanwhile, the cost of housing and other basic necessities continue to skyrocket. In the recent statewide budget campaign, IHSS workers won a one-dollar increase from the State to go toward IHSS wages. The Contra Costa workers can only get access to these funds if the County agrees to provide just 17.5 cents of that dollar. Their 17.5% share of a one- dollar wage increase would infuse over $5 million per year in state and federal matching funds into the local economy. Surrounding counties, including Marin, Sonoma, San Francisco, Napa and Solano have all agreed to raise IHSS worker's salaries to $10.50 per hour. Bargaining has been ongoing for four months, and the money is in the budget and available now, yet the County continues to stall.
Homecare workers allow the most vulnerable in our community, including seniors and people with disabilities, to live safely, comfortably and with dignity in their own homes. Additionally, it is a much more cost-effective alternative to institutions such as nursing homes. Care for people forced to go into nursing homes can cost taxpayers up to five times more than in-home care. "The IHSS program allows people to be cared for in their homes, instead of being taken away and placed in an expensive nursing facility. A wage increase will allow us to perform this labor of love and not have to find another job that pays more money just so we can make ends meet," says IHSS provider Loretta Kent. "After all, if we can't take care of ourselves, how can we continue to take care of others?"
Who: In-home care providers, clients, community and labor leaders and advocates When: 9:15 AM, Tuesday, December 6, 2005 Where: County Administration Building, 651 Pine Street, Room 107, Martinez.
SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West, with more than 140,000 members, is the largest and most powerful healthcare union in the Western U.S. We represent every type of healthcare worker, including nursing, professional, technical and service classifications. Our mission is to achieve high quality healthcare for all.
CONTACT: Kimberly Johnson 510-773-7275
SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West
CONTACT: Kimberly Johnson of SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West,+1-510-773-7275
Web site: http://www.seiu-uhw.org/
Source: PRNewswire
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