MARTINEZ - Contra Costa County officials agreed yesterday to recommend that the Board of Supervisors withdraw the County's request to the state to reduce home care wages and comply with a recent federal judge's ruling protecting seniors and people with disabilities from being forced from their homes.
In a meeting with SEIU-UHW home care members, Jan Watson, Director of the Contra Costa IHSS Public Authority, stated that the County would rescind its request to the state to cut home care wages in compliance with the recent federal injunction.
On June 25, 2009 a federal judge found that home care consumers faced "immediate and irreparable harm" if home care wage cuts were implemented and issued a preliminary injunction preventing the state from going forward with the planned wage reductions. The class action lawsuit was filed one month earlier by individual consumers and SEIU.
Contra Costa County had planned to cut the wages of the approximately 7,000 in-home support services workers by $1.18 per hour after the state announced it would pay less of its share in February. Citing a violation of contract, SEIU-UHW filed a grievance against the county on June 23 and a lawsuit against Gov. Schwarzenegger and other parties to stop the cuts.
"I think Independence Day has just taken on a whole new meaning for the thousands of Contra Costa residents that depend on home care to live independently in their own homes. I am very happy the county is going to follow the Judge's ruling and live up to its commitment to home care workers," said Mary Harm, a Contra Costa County home care provider and SEIU-UHW member.
CONTACT: Nathan Selzer; 510-502-1732 (cell)
SEIU-UHW represents more than 150,000 healthcare workers across California and our members provide first-rate care to millions of Californians. We are a proud affiliate of the 2 million member Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Learn more at www.SEIU-UHW.org
SOURCE: SEIU-UHW