In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) is a social service that allows people who need long-term care to receive it in the comfort and safety of their own homes. In Siskiyou County, approximately 490 IHSS workers provide long-term care services—including household work, personal care services, and paramedical services—to approximately 580 older adults and people with disabilities.
Click here to learn more about the essential long-term care IHSS workers provide.
Without our IHSS workers, our neighbors who receive services through IHSS would lose access to essential long-term care. Despite their vital role in Siskiyou’s long-term care system, IHSS workers earn just $16.50 an hour. They are the only IHSS workforce in California that is still paid minimum wage and lacks the protections of a collective bargaining agreement.
Siskiyou IHSS workers are joining together to secure a strong contract that increases wages and improves benefits for workers, and guarantees just & equitable access to long-term care for all who need it in our community.
Campaign Update: September 2025
Join us at the upcoming Board of Supervisors meeting on September 16:
- When: Tuesday, September 16 at 8:30 am
- Where: Siskiyou Board of Supervisors Chambers, 311 Fourth St (Second Floor), Yreka, CA 96097
- What: Attend the Board of Supervisors meeting and support fellow Siskiyou IHSS workers as we address the Board during public comment and urge them to raise our wage
Over the past several months, Siskiyou IHSS workers have been negotiating our first-ever union contract with the County Board of Supervisors. Through this process, we’re trying to raise wages in order to improve the quality of our jobs and ensure our families have access to in-home care for generations to come.
But Siskiyou Supervisors are refusing to raise our wages—making us the only IHSS workers in California without a union contract, which means we’re the only ones still making minimum wage. They’re devaluing your work and leaving more than $500,000 of state and federal funding on the table instead of using it to benefit our community.
In August, we had a scheduled meeting with county leaders to keep making progress toward our union contract, but the county canceled on us with less than 24-hours notice.
Now, we’re continuing to build support by speaking with fellow Siskiyou IHSS workers, small business owners, and every people across our community to urge our County Supervisors to do the right thing and fund home care.
Join us at the next Board of Supervisors meeting on September 16 to urge county leaders to fund home care now!
Campaign Update: November 2024
In November:
- Our union went door-to-door across Siskiyou County to hear from IHSS workers and recipients about how a strong union contract will positively impact their lives.
- We heard stories of the need for higher wages that will help workers stay in the caregiving profession as we prepare to address the growing demand for in-home care across the county.
- IHSS recipients expressed the essential role their caregivers play in supporting their independence and enabling them to have a voice in how they receive long-term care.
- IHSS workers and recipients will continue telling our stories to make sure people with disabilities and older adults across our county will have just and equitable access to long-term care for years to come.
Campaign Update: October 2024
On Tuesday, October 1:
- Siskiyou home care workers spoke out at the Board of Supervisors meeting to demand our elected officials invest in long-term care and pass a strong union contract for IHSS providers.
- After the meeting, we rallied in front of the Board chambers to inform our community about the growing long-term care crisis and how investing in our IHSS workforce is the best solution to address it.