Sacramento, CA – Tuesday in Sacramento hundreds of child care providers and In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) providers came together with members of the Legislative Women’s Caucus at The California Museum for a celebration ahead of National Caregivers Day on February 21 – a celebration of the majority women-of-color caregiving workforce.
“Caring for my dad when he needed me was an honor; it also opened up my eyes to the ways caregiving is as undervalued and underpaid as it is essential. In some counties, In-Home Supportive Services workers earn barely above the minimum wage. I’m proud that my union is leading the way in fighting for better wages for IHSS workers, the basic benefits every worker needs and deserves, and the voice that comes with standing together in our union. Only with that strength can we fight for a better system for the people we care for,” shared Carmen Roberts, a caregiver in Los Angeles County and Executive Vice President of SEIU 2015.
Care workers lift up our communities and economies by preparing children for a lifetime of success and ensuring seniors and people with disabilities can live dignified, independent lives in their homes.
“Child care providers are one of the most unseen workforces in California, yet without them, families couldn’t go to work and support their loved ones,” said UDW Deputy Executive Director Johanna Puno Hester. “Despite their essential role, the majority still earn poverty wages due to an outdated pay structure that underpays them for caring for children in the state’s subsidy program. California must do better—we owe child care providers more.”
The Care and the Bear event celebrated caregivers and their decades-long fight to transform low-paying, disrespected work into good jobs alongside California Legislative Women’s Caucus leaders who have stood by this predominantly female workforce. At the event, legislators recommitted to continue the fight for family-sustaining wages, training opportunities, and to transform fragmented systems so that caregivers are empowered to better meet the growing needs of young learners, families, people who are aging or who are living with disabilities.
Across California, the population of older adults is growing, increasing the demand for in-home care. Yet, lack of access to the wages and benefits needed to provide for their families is driving IHSS workers out of the caregiving profession, with one in five caregivers saying they may leave the industry. Investing in and lifting up this industry is critical to our state’s long term stability.
And California’s child care industry is in a similarly precarious position with the industry facing a decades-long crisis and provider pay that averages $7-10 an hour. Child Care Providers United (CCPU), the union for family child care providers in the state, is currently bargaining with the state of California for provider pay to be brought to parity with the cost of providing care.
“Care work is honorable and essential—it’s the backbone of our local communities and the California economy. It’s time for California to get serious about investing in the workforce that keeps our families and society thriving. Care work has a direct impact on Californians’ ability to hold a job, and their cost of living,” said Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Chair of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus. “If we want our children, seniors, and people with disabilities to receive the highest quality care, we have to make sure caregivers are fairly compensated and supported. It’s common sense for the health of our society. I stand proudly with my sisters in care work, fighting for long-overdue child care rate increases and a single statewide bargaining agreement for IHSS providers.”
“When care workers organize, they don’t just advocate for themselves, they lift up all California workers,” said Senator Monique Limón, the Vice-Chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus. “Together, we will not only secure better wages and benefits for caregivers, but we will create a world where children, elderly, and the disabled receive the care they deserve and need in their own homes.”