Santa Cruz County, CA – Today, Santa Cruz In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) workers and members of SEIU Local 2015 — the nation’s largest long-term care union and California’s largest labor union representing more than 470,000 nursing home workers and home care providers — shared public comments and rallied at the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors to call for livable wages, healthcare benefits, and fair compensation for their work.
Santa Cruz County IHSS workers’ hourly wage ($18.75) is about half the actual wage needed to meet basic cost of living in Santa Cruz County ($36.64). This makes Santa Cruz County IHSS providers’ hourly wage the worst wage of all 58 counties in California when it comes to meeting the actual cost of living for its region.
IHSS workers in Santa Cruz County are in the process of negotiating a contract with the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors that includes livable wages. The board threatens to completely remove healthcare coverage in order to bring their shockingly lowball offer of a .85 cents to raise up current wages to $19.60. Long-term care workers in Santa Cruz County are struggling to make ends meet, prompting many to leave the long-term care industry altogether. At the same time, the demand for care grows while caregivers leave the industry. In 2023, more half a million authorized care hours went unused, indicating a lack of caregivers.
A recent poll of in-home care workers in Santa Cruz County underscored the urgent challenges that many of these essential workers face. Some of the distressing findings include:
- Nearly 75% of IHSS providers in Santa Cruz County report working multiple jobs – at least some of the time – to make ends meet.
- 40% of IHSS providers in Santa Cruz County experience consistent food insecurity, relying on CalFresh and/or food banks at least monthly on low poverty wages.
- More than half of IHSS providers in Santa Cruz County report having difficulty paying their mortgage or rent each month, reporting that they are sometimes or always late with their payments.
- One in three providers say their home is overcrowded.
- 40% of IHSS providers in Santa Cruz County experience consistent food insecurity, relying on CalFresh and/or food banks at least monthly on low poverty wages.
IHSS workers provide essential care for the Santa Cruz community, yet the Santa Cruz Living Wage Ordinance excludes IHSS workers, further impoverishing them and denying them key healthcare benefits. Even with the Santa Cruz Living Wage Ordinance in place, there remains a waitlist for county-funded healthcare benefits. A county that doesn’t have healthcare because of a waitlist should be still paying workers a wage that allows them access to healthcare.
One in five home care providers say they may leave the industry, citing low wages and lack of benefits. Unless these become better jobs, care providers will continue to leave this profession for fast food, warehouse, retail, restaurant and other jobs that have started paying substantially more. A wage increase for Santa Cruz caregivers will help them support themselves and their families, as well as attract and retain the caregivers that the county’s families desperately need. Fair compensation will better support both the providers and the individuals they care for.
“There have been times when I’ve had to either not pay or bill or not have groceries. Caregivers shouldn’t have to live like this. We take care of people, but we can barely survive on what we make. We need higher pay to put food on the table for our families,” said Jessica Vasquez, a Santa Cruz County IHSS provider and an SEIU 2015 member.
“Right now, it’s been hard working multiple jobs… My current salary of $18.75 an hour, it’s not enough to sustain my family, especially in Santa Cruz County. The cost of living is exceedingly high, and I can’t survive off only two paid hours a day when I’m providing around-the-clock care. I’ve had to clean houses and work in strawberry fields to survive on IHSS wages in Santa Cruz County. It’s a cruel irony that those who dedicate their lives to caring for others cannot afford to take care of themselves without livable wages,” said Ernestina Solorio, a Santa Cruz County IHSS provider and an SEIU 2015 member.
SEIU Local 2015 is committed to advocating for policies that support in-home care providers and those they care for, including livable wages and benefits, as well as access to training and professional development opportunities. We urge the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors to work with us to address these pressing issues and ensure that all who qualify have access to the care they need and deserve in the comfort of their own homes.
To learn more about SEIU Local 2015 visit www.SEIU2015.org or on social media @SEIU2015.