Sacramento County, CA - Home Care workers in Sacramento County have a new two-year contract that protects employees' wages, improves their healthcare, and ensures that seniors and people with disabilities will continue receiving the services they need to live independently at home.
The County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 this morning to approve the contract with 18,000 homecare workers. The workers, who are members of the Service Employees International Union - United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), unanimously ratified it Monday.
The agreement was negotiated by the member-elected bargaining team. To secure the new contract, the home care providers worked with their clients and community allies to lobby the Board of Supervisors. The IHSS program is essential to the independence of seniors and the disabled throughout the county.
Supervisor Roger Dickinson, Chairman of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, said, "I'm pleased that we were able to reach this agreement with the members of SEIU-UHW that preserves wages and permits some additional home care workers to receive health care benefits. My hope is we will continue to sustain living wages for in-home supportive services providers who do such important and necessary work. I look forward to continue working with SEIU-UHW's members to accomplish this."
"This contract is good for home care workers, good for the people we serve, and good for the county," said Deborah Hibbler, a Sacramento County home care worker and member of the bargaining team. "We are very proud that were able to make our case to the board of supervisors that we needed to maintain our wages and expand healthcare coverage to more people."
The contract comes after SEIU members, seniors groups, organizations for the disabled, and other allies stopped an attempt by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to cut state payments for wages by $2 an hour.
The two-year contract calls for an hourly wage of $10.40 per hour - ensuring the county maintains its current funding - through the end of 2010. Notably, the contract increases the number of home care workers eligible for healthcare coverage. Additionally, in a notable first, the contract recognizes the importance of paid time off for home care workers and begins the process to provide home care workers with paid time off.
Contact: Adriana Surfas, 510.869.2246
SEIU - United Healthcare Workers-West (SEIU-UHW) is the largest hospital and healthcare union in the western United States with more than 150,000 members. We unite every type of healthcare worker with a mission to achieve high-quality healthcare for all. SEIU-UHW is part of the 2.1 million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the nation's fastest-growing union. Learn more at www.seiu-uhw.org.
Source: SEIU-UHW
