SEIU lobbies for raises for home care workers in Illinois

By Kari Lydersen

Oct. 25— As a home health care worker for elderly and disabled indigent people, 29-year-old Regina Hagerman takes temperatures, cleans rooms, helps patients dress, and administers medication, among other tasks. She raises her five children in Chicago on $13,806 a year, working 45 hours a week at $5.90 an hour.

She is also suffering from ovarian cancer. And like most of the about 37,000 other home health care workers in Illinois, she has no health insurance.

Home health care workers are “family members, social workers, nurses, and maids all in one,” says home care worker Lisa Marie Alexander. They attend to the basic medical needs of the 68,000 clients in Illinois, in addition to making sure their surroundings are clean and helping them through periods of emotional distress. “It’s physically stressful, because we are lifting people and turning people over, things like that,” says Alexander, 35, who also works doing child care at a YMCA for what are sometimes 13-hour work days. “But even more, it’s emotionally tiring.”

“You have to be a loving, caring person to do home care work,” says Helen Miller, 66, a home care provider and president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 880, which represents about 13,500 home care workers. “Clients look for their home care workers sometimes more than their families, because they know you’ll be there.”

Despite all their duties, home health care workers in Illinois are paid only $5.75 to $7 an hour, no more than one would make at a fast food joint. And that’s with few or no paid holidays, vacation days or sick days—not to mention that 58 percent have no health care benefits. SEIU Local 880 has been campaigning for almost two decades to secure raises and benefits for home care workers, who are hired by a variety of private and government agencies and paid by the state, either through the Department of Aging for elderly clients or the Department of Human Services for the disabled.

Despite tireless lobbying, marching, and letter-writing, the union so far has gotten little but broken promises. A $1-an-hour raise for all home care workers was passed in Illinois’ fiscal year budget, which was supposed to take effect on July 1. But a state budget crunch derailed that plan, and the program was gutted—the raise was repealed, and hours for each client were cut back, meaning less time with an attendant for housebound elderly and ill people and less money for already cash-strapped workers. Now, the union is pressing the state legislature to restore the $1-an-hour raise as well as a 3 percent cost of living increase that was supposed to take effect last August but was also cut. The bills mandating the raise and increase will be reintroduced during the state legislature’s veto session in November.

Workers note that the cuts in home care service are illogical, because the service actually saves the state money by keeping people at home instead of in institutions, which cost approximately three times as much. “We keep grandparents, fathers, and mothers from having to be sent to nursing homes,” Miller says. “We save the state millions.”

Home care workers report they are forced to come to work sick and to work two or three jobs just to make ends meet. And that hurts the clients, too. Because of the stress and low pay, home care worker turnover is high—35 percent annually for those caring for the elderly and 23 percent for the disabled. “I felt like they wanted to do a good job but they couldn’t,” says Tiny Mae Rucker, 78, of the workers who have come to her home on Chicago’s West Side. “Sometimes they wouldn’t show up at all, and they wouldn’t call.”

The average home care worker is a middle-aged, African-American woman who works full time, is the single head of her family, and wants more training in the health care field, according to a study by the SEIU. Many of the workers are also welfare-to-work participants, which means that even if they don’t feel educationally or emotionally capable for the job, they can’t turn it down without risking the loss of public aid benefits.

Though workers want more training, there is little financial incentive or even opportunity to get it, since they are offered no extra pay for the qualification. Alexander, for example, is a certified nurse’s assistant and former paramedic, yet even after 20 years’ experience in the health care field, including 10 years in home care, she makes less than $7 an hour.

“They’re saying we’re not doing nursing work, but then what do you call it?” asks Alexander, who, along with busloads of other Local 880 members, will go to the capital to lobby and march in November. “They try to make us feel like our jobs aren’t worthwhile, like we’re not assets to the community, but we are. It’s time our voices are heard.”

Source: In These Times

Boston janitors win strike!

By Shawn Gaynor

Oct. 28 (AGR)— Boston-area janitors and cleaning contractors reached a tentative contract settlement that will dramatically improve janitorial jobs in the Boston area.

Boston janitors celebrate their
strike victory on Wednesday, Oct. 23.

Striking SEIU janitors in Boston declared victory after a four-week walkout and an outpouring of community, student, political, and religious support pressured cleaning companies to extend employer-paid health coverage to more of its workforce.

The agreement with the Maintenance Contractors of New England uses the framework of the Interim agreement that had already been reached with 9 contractors and achieves all of janitors’ goals, including extending employer-paid health insurance to more janitors, boosting pay significantly, and improving benefits such as sick leave.

“This settlement demonstrates the power of solidarity when we’re all there for each other. When labor and community come together, amazing things can happen - we are building for a better future!” said Jobs with Justice strike supporters.

The tentative agreement between SEIU janitors and the Maintenance Contractors of New England cracks down on the real estate industry’s use of part-time cleaning staff to avoid providing health care coverage — and paves the way for SEIU janitors’ contract negotiations in cities across the country early next year.

“We’ve shown that our community expects big corporations to provide health care benefits — and that workers can take a stand on this issue and win.” — Rocio Saenz, of SEIU Local 254

Students from across the city of Boston, and members of Boston Student Labor Action Project (SLAP) joined janitors in a victory rally at Northeastern on Thursday, October 24, on Huntington Avenue. Boston students spent Wednesday evening calling off buses of students from out of town who were to arrive in support of the striking workers, and instead organized locals to participate in Thursday’s newly declared day of celebration. “We are proud to stand with the janitors on this day of victory, to spread the message to our fellow students and to our administrations: solidarity works!” said Northeastern Student Jonathan Rissmeyer.

The five-year agreement provides:

• Employer-paid health coverage for 1000 additional janitors in Boston’s largest buildings and significant wage increases for all of Boston’s janitors. By the end of the agreement, wages for all Boston janitors will increase by 30 percent or more. Most will earn $12.95 - 13.15 an hour.
• Educational opportunities for janitors, including English classes and job skills training.
• For the first time janitors will receive paid sick leave. The agreement calls for two sick days per year.

The janitors’ campaign in Boston was modeled after Los Angeles janitors’ successful strike in 2000 and sparked a similar outpouring of support, including involvement by Cardinal Law, Senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry, Governor Jane Swift, State Treasurer Shannon O’Brien and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.

LABOR BRIEFS

Teamsters end strike at Overnite Transportation

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced Oct. 24 the end of the three-year unfair labor practice (ULP) strike against Overnite Transportation, the trucking subsidiary of Union Pacific Corp. Union leaders note that the struggle for justice will continue at Overnite. For more than eight years Overnite Transportation has repeatedly violated US labor law and refused to bargain in good faith with the Teamsters. The aim of the ULP strike has been to compel Overnite to comply with federal labor laws.

In Feb. 2002, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated a ruling it had previously issued upholding a NLRB decision that would have paid the Overnite workers more than $3 million for unlawfully withheld wages and granted bargaining orders at ten Overnite terminals. By its decision, the Court removed any meaningful deterrence for violating the law.

The Teamsters Union will continue to assist those returning workers to ensure that Overnite does not further violate their rights.

“We are continuing the fight for justice for these workers,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa.

“Our cause is right, our struggle is just, and ultimately, we will prevail.” (Teamsters Online)

10,000 union
members march for Videotron strikers

Thousands of union members marched Oct. 26 in solidarity with Videotron employees who have been on strike/lockout for almost six months. Videotron’s 2,200 unionized employees, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, have been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2002. At issue are salaries, work hours, and the company’s decision to transfer more than 600 employees to Entourage Solutions, Inc., to which Videotron sold its installation and line-maintenance division. A technician would see a pay drop of almost half after being transferred to Entourage.

Talks between the company and the union resumed after former Quebec premier, Lucien Buchard, was hired as a company negotiator. While “cautiously hopeful” about coming negotiations, union spokesperson Jacques Denomme said job protection is paramount in reaching a settlement with the company. (Montreal Gazette)