“SEIU 775 said in a press release that ‘DSHS’s proposed 2021-2023 budget cuts $1.1 billion in long-term care services for the elderly and people with disabilities.’ The union said that would mean more than 10,000 seniors and people with disabilities would lose home care services, and that more than 2,800 ‘will be kicked out of the nursing home where they live.’
SEIU 775 also said 10,000 in-home caregivers would lose their jobs, and those who keep their full-time jobs would lose about $1,300 a year in wages and benefits. Shelly Hughes, a Bellingham nursing home worker and union member, told the committee: ‘The middle of the pandemic is the worst time’ for such cuts in the ‘already struggling nursing home industry.'”