Month: March 2017

Screen Shot 2017-03-27 at 5.25.12 PMOlympia, WA – Demonstrating deep commitment to protecting seniors and people with disabilities, House Democrats took the necessary steps in their budget to ensure that both long-term care services are fully funded next year.

By closing wasteful tax loopholes, the House budget proposal laid the foundation for an equitable future for all working families in Washington state.

“Home-care workers across the state applaud the House Democrats for taking steps to build the long-term care workforce and ensure quality care for vulnerable Washingtonians.”

– Adam Glickman, SEIU 775 Secretary-Treasurer

The House budget would help grow and stabilize the caregiver workforce by rejecting the Senate Republicans proposal to make deep cuts to health benefits for low-wage caregivers. That proposal would have eliminated affordable health care for thousands of home care workers.

The House budget also funds the home-care union contract, which phases in raises to bring home care workers up to at least $15/hour by 2019. Due to low wages, tens of thousands of caregivers have been forced to live below the poverty levels, work multiple jobs and struggle to make ends meet. The average caregiver in Washington state earns less than $20,000 a year, which forces caregivers to leave the workforce in pursuit of better-paying jobs.

“The work we do as caregivers is super – important to our clients – seniors and adults living with disabilities. They depend on us caregivers to provide quality care. This budget makes me hopeful that our state legislators will recognize the value of our work and fully fund our contract.” 

-Tanika Aden, SEIU 775 parent caregiver

This past summer, SEIU 775 bargained a contract with the state to stabilize the workforce and ensure that home-care workers earn a living wage, while also being less expensive than either of the two previous contracts that were funded by the legislature in 2013 and 2015. For 45,000 home-care workers, funding the home-care contract with similar increases for private agency caregivers will afford them the opportunity to provide for their families and futures.

“Unlike the Senate Republicans, who chose to protect tax breaks for the wealthy while slashing health benefits for low-wage caregivers, the House Democratic budget protects affordable healthcare for caregivers, helps lift them out of poverty, and makes our tax system more fair,” said Glickman.

 

XXXX

 

It’s a tale of two budgets in Olympia: Republicans in the state Senate have proposed a budget that does not include funding for our contractual pay raises and slashes funding for our health benefits. Democrats in the state House include full funding for our health benefits and our contract with agency parity in their budget.

Click here to urge your state representatives to vote yes on the House Democrats’ budget.


Clients need the stability of fully funded services and caregivers need this step toward a sustainable living wage. Your voice can make a difference in making sure the final budget includes full funding for our contract with agency parity.

Click here to urge your state representatives to vote yes on the House

Our calls and emails make a difference and I hope you will join us in helping to ensure a more secure future for yourselves and your clients.

There’s no other way to say it – IPOne has been a disaster from Day 1.

From their botched first weeks to the constant problems with PTO and taxes, it’s clear DSHS has done an awful job with this new payroll system.

Time and time again SEIU 775 has had to step in and put pressure on DSHS and IPOne to fix their mistakes.

When We Stand Together, We Win!

Recently, our union turned up the heat, and members flooded them with angry emails. It made a difference.

While there are still tons of problems, progress is being made. Here are a few examples:

  • We’ve won a $125,000 settlement to compensate caregivers for expenses caregivers incurred due to late pay or incorrect pay (predures on how to get reimbursement will be finalize and distributed in the next few weeks).
  • Caregivers have now all been paid for all the overtime they earned starting last April! And we are still fighting to demand the state pay interest on the back pay.
  • We’ve gotten them to fix most of the problems with accruing PTO and PTO balances should now be correct (let us know if they still aren’t!)
  • Dozens of caregivers will soon be getting back-pay because they weren’t being paid their 25-cent differential for completing advanced training

Our union has helped dozens of individual caregivers navigate IPOne’s awful customer service center and get their problems fixed.

We Are Still Working To Fix Problems

We know that there are still tons of problems, and we are filing new grievances almost every day on behalf of members who have wrong paychecks, wrong tax statements, or other problems. Here’s two things to know:

  • We have heard from caregivers across the state about their taxes being wrong. If you think your taxes were withheld wrong or your W2 is wrong, please email your organizer and tell us exactly what the problem is.
  • There also continue to be lots of other individual problems with IPOne. If you have a problem either with the IPOne or your paychecks, email your organizer and we’ll follow up with you.

By staying strong together, our union will work through the IPOne problems, fight for improvements and win back pay for our members. Let’s keep up this fight going until they get their act together!

Long-term care services and home care jobs are under attack in the Montana Legislature.

Caregivers in Montana are standing together to put corporate-backed, Republican representatives on notice.

Our union—SEIU 775—is fighting these outrageous budget cuts. CLICK HERE if you haven’t had a chance to send an email telling lawmakers to restore budget cuts to Senior and Long Term Care and Disability Services!

Montana SEIU 775 members sent letters to GOP legislators informing them that the $84 million proposed to long-term care are dangerous for clients, critical home care jobs at risk, and their families’ future.

Home care workers join with their clients and other concerned community members to demand that the Montana Legislature restore the long-term care services budget.
Home care workers join with their clients and other concerned community members to demand that the Montana Legislature restore the long-term care services budget.

Anna, a long-term care worker who lives in Bozeman, MT says:

“If these devastating cuts are passed, my job, my client’s well-being, and my family’s future are all at risk. My client of eight years lives with cerebral palsy, which means he needs assistance with everything. I provide the care he needs, so he can continue to live in his home. 

If his hours are cut, he’ll be forced to leave his home and find care that ultimately costs our state more money. I cannot sit idly by and let this happen.”

A team of members is also calling other caregivers throughout Montana urging them to join this fight.  CLICK HERE to take a stand Anna and fellow caregivers and tell decision-makers they must support revenue enhancers and restore cuts to Senior Long Term Care and Developmental Disability portions of HB2.

Montanans need the Legislature to invest in long-term care. As individuals, we might not be heard, but standing together our voices are powerful.

Your help is critical. Thank you for taking a stand with us!

 

In February, neither freezing rain nor snow could keep dozens of caregivers away from Olympia to press legislators to fund our new home care contract with parity for agency providers.

Washington home care workers deserve to make a living wage and not be forced to struggle to make ends meet. That’s why caregivers from Eastern, Central, Southwest Washington and the Peninsula made the journey to tell legislators they should support home care workers and a $15/hour minimum wage.

PurplePresence3.2.17A This is an especially tough budget year in the Legislature, but our team of caregivers were determined to make the voices of 38,000 long-term care workers heard.  Members met legislators and key staff, told their stories, and underscored their clients’ needs—making it clear that the home care workforce deserves to be fairly compensated, and our clients deserve high quality care.

In every meeting, we urged legislators to support what are fighting for:

  • Starting wages that will reach $15/hour and more than $18/hour for the most experienced caregivers who complete additional training.
  • New accountability for IPOne, including firm timelines for identifying and correcting problems.
  • The State’s contribution to our new retirement plan will double.
  • Increased paid time off.
  • First-in-the-nation paid administrative time each month.
  • A new health and safety program for caregivers.

By telling their stories, members worked hard to ensure that home care workers earn living wages and receive payment for the hours worked.

As the legislative session moves forward, members will continue to travel to Olympia to testify and speak up on behalf of caregivers in our state. By working together, we will amplify the need to fund the home care contract with parity for agency home care workers.

We’ll keep emailing and phoning our legislators as we work to pass legislation on these important long-term care issues. To send a letter to your state legislator supporting our contract, please click here.