In this special episode of Who Cares, SEIU 2015 President Arnulfo De La Cruz sits down with our new Executive Vice President Marcus McRae and Tehama County IHSS provider Jerrika Salyers to reflect on the powerful victories care workers won in 2024—from historic contracts to statewide legislative wins. Hear inspiring stories of member organizing, first-ever wage increases, and what’s next as we build momentum into 2025.
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Transcript
Arnulfo De La Cruz: Welcome to Who Cares!, a podcast by SEIU 2015. I’m Arnulfo de la Cruz, the President of SEIU 2015 and now the host of Who Cares! We are the largest union of long term care workers across the country. We’re committed to important issues related to long term care workers and care recipients.
Even though we’re into 2025, in today’s episode, we’re going to take a look back. A look back at 2024 and some of the amazing things that we’ve been able to accomplish together as a union and as a movement today.
I’m really excited to have two very special guests. First is our new Executive Vice President, Marcus McCrae. Marcus has been a part of the SEIU 2015 family for a long time. He served in a lot of different roles as organizer, Regional Director and Deputy Statewide Field Director. Marcus brings a deep passion for our work and a breadth of experience in helping us secure so many of our key victories throughout the state of California. Marcus has had extensive experience in navigating teams of members and organizers through very difficult campaigns, some of them I have at the top of my head. Marcus also will join us to share their story and their most exciting worker victory. I’m excited to have Marcus on our Executive Board and as a guest to discuss our 2024 victories.
We’ll also be joined by Jerrika Salyers, an SEIU member and IHSS provider from Tehama County. Jerrika, along with other Tehama care providers, secured a strong contract in 2024–this was the first ever for IHSS caregivers in that county, which was significant and historical. I’m also excited to hear about how that contract is impacting our members in Tehama County.
But first, welcome Marcus!
Marcus McRae: Thanks, Arnulfo. It’s great to be joining you and Jerrika on the podcast today, and also to serve as our newest Executive Vice President at the local. I want to just say a few things about myself and my background.
When I was growing up, success in my family didn’t just mean that you got something for yourself, like a car or a house. I’m not saying those things aren’t important, but success to us really meant that you could help the person next to you, and that you and the people around you could do better together.
I think that’s why for a lot of my life, I’ve really been inspired by the labor movement. When I looked around at what union members were doing in the community, they always seemed to me like a group of people who were committed to being at the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing, and to stand together and doing it, if that was the Fight for $15 or overtime pay or safe workplaces. So I decided that’s what I want to do in my life. That’s what I want to join.
When I finished school, I went to the LA labor center and signed up for an internship with the union. It was kind of a blind date-like situation. I didn’t really get to choose which union that I was going to go to, and they placed me with ULTCW. It was a union that I had never heard of, but it was one of the locals that would become part of SEIU 2015. And to be honest, my first thought was, Wow, that’s a lot of letters. Am I going to have to say ULTCW all the time? But now it really doesn’t feel like an accident.
I joined our union. We were doing really big things. There were 1000s of us getting on buses going to Sacramento to fight against huge cuts to the home care program, and over 100,000 of our members in LA fighting for a fair contract. And I just felt that every day that I showed up, I got to do something really meaningful, not just to our members, but also to me.
I come personally from a family of caregivers. My mom, at different points in her life, has been the caregiver to three of her siblings, so that’s my aunts and uncles that live with disabilities, and another aunt of mine who raised me was also my grandmother’s IHSS caregiver while she was alive. Everyone’s care needs are different, and this is true of my family too, and I would see a lot of people wanting to dismiss what they thought my aunts and uncles could do.
But you know, what I saw is that loving care was what they needed to live thriving and dynamic lives, and they ended up often having a lot of independence when they got the care that they needed. So I really wouldn’t have imagined that I could work with and for people like my family, but it’s really meant a lot to me that I can.
Arnulfo De La Cruz: That’s wonderful. And Marcus, we really appreciate you being on and sharing both the personal and your professional journey in how you came to be at 2015 and why this issue of care. And I think that’s a beautiful way to start by saying, in your family–I want to hold that up–success wasn’t seen as someone individually advancing. It was seen as you help others and everyone advances together. That, I think, is at the heart of what we believe in, in the union. So I really appreciate you sharing that.
The other thing to our listeners that you may not know, and something I’ve brought up many times–and hopefully that’s okay with Marcus–but Marcus also, I’m not sure if I have the word right, polyglot, but Marcus speaks multiple languages. And not “Hello. How are you doing. Buenas tardes, Good afternoon.” He can actually fluently speak these languages.
And I want to say the number. The last time I remember Marcus was, I know it was more than five, I thought? But in this space of caregiving, right, we represent half a million caregivers in California. We estimate that about half of that population is immigrant. For our board meetings, we prepare in eight different languages. So I’m sure enough, Marcus is able to communicate across so many different communities in our membership. And I always say that the ability for members to be able to communicate with someone in their own language is very impactful for them. It helps them to understand that they belong. There’s a certain sense of comfort in being able to communicate in your own language.
But just curious, Marcus, could you share a little bit about how, other than you just being incredibly intelligent, what inspired you to learn those languages so fluently?
Marcus McRae: I know eight languages, including four of the eight that we operate in and our union. So that’s definitely helped me as I’ve worked with our members and our staff across the state, not just to understand what people are saying, but also where they come from and what they’re thinking and and why.
But when I was growing up, my family actually wanted me to be a missionary, and that was, like my first dream job that I thought that I might have. So part of that was learning different languages, but that’s really served me in a lot of different ways in my life and and definitely at the local too.
Arnulfo De La Cruz: Thank you for sharing that. I know that you consider yourself an organizer. You’re now in a position of leadership at the local. For you, what is the role of an organizer, or what is the role of a leader in the moment that we’re in, in the union movement? If you could just share a little bit about how you see your journey and your role moving forward, also for the future.
Marcus McRae: Sure. So, you know, I think that my journey has been a lot like so many 2015, leaders, what we start with is that we show up and we’re ready to do everything that we can do around the most important and pressing issues for our members at that time, and then someone believed in me and believed in my ability to do more and to lead more in our union. And I think that, again, like a lot of 2015 leaders, have that in common, so I’ve worn a lot of different hats in my time at local.
They’ve been all over the state. I’ve been one of our lead organizers in LA organizing coordinator in the Bay Area, the Regional Director for the Sacramento region, and then also the north state region, which is where Jerrika and I started working together. And then I was the local’s deputy statewide field director. Our board elected me as EVP just a few weeks ago, but the members in Region 2 and 3 and I have really hit the ground running, because that’s what this moment really requires of us.
So after a long and difficult fight for Fresno County home care workers, we just reached a tentative agreement in that county, and we’re preparing a vote to ask our 19,000 members that work there if they want to accept the contract that our bargaining committee is very proud will provide significant wage increases and expand health care access to caregivers in that county. This time last year, the county was proposing paying for our members raises by eliminating our health care plan. So it’s really a night and day difference from what the county sought to do. And we’re proud to be able to take that to our membership.
Regions 2 and 3 really are ground zero, and our national and our local campaign to protect Medicaid–monies that we rely on to keep nursing homes open and the IHSS program running. And we take that responsibility in our regions really seriously. So we’ve been doing rallies, drop in, visits, phone calls, sharing our story. We’re waking up every day and letting our representatives in Congress know that constituents are watching, and they’ll hold them accountable to funding Medicaid, which is really life saving care for millions of Americans.
So, when people think about politics in the Inland Empire, in the Central Valley–I think they think about its conservatism, and that’s true. But what I think that both of these campaigns that we’re working on are going to show is that there’s more people in our communities that understand that long term care is vital and who want it to be protected, rather than those who don’t. So we’re getting people in our union and also outside of our union talking about that. That’s how we’re going to create quality long term care jobs and make sure that those who need care can get it even as the needs for caregivers grow.
Arnulfo De La Cruz: You know, in a lot of ways, the spirit of Fresno caregivers is never to give up, right, to never lose hope, and to tie that to the moment that we’re in with the threats that you just mentioned, for example, around Medicaid and our members commitment to never give up and to keep building power collectively and moving forward. So congratulations to you and the team for some of these incredible victories and really that SEIU with a spirit of, we’re not going to give up, we’re going to continue to build together power, and we are going to fight forward, especially given all the challenges.
And you know, taking one step back. Marcus, since we have you for this podcast, what would you say would be one of your favorite or most memorable victories that we won last year?
Marcus McRae: Well, Arnulfo, it’s hard for me to pick one. I have to say that my favorite victory is every time 2015 members get together and decide to exercise their power together. And I think that one of the most significant ways that we did that last year was at the bargaining table. We had around 70,000 of our members join a contract fight last year, if it was in their county, their private agency, their nursing home. And all 70,000 won contracts with improved wages, benefits and rights.
In our nursing homes, 1000 of our members in 13 different facilities bargained their first contract with the Union last year. In the home care industry, our members in Ventura and San Benito, Santa Cruz, Calaveras, Yuba, Sacramento, San Mateo, Napa, Marin, Tehama and Mendocino bargained and implemented new contracts with the public authorities in those counties. So that really excites me.
Arnulfo De La Cruz: Marcus, we just really appreciate you being on and it’s great to take a look back at some of those incredible victories, and also how you see your role and the hope you have for our members. And I know, Marcus, you’ve been part of some really difficult campaigns. I know that you’ve been part of campaigns where nursing home workers had to make a difficult decision whether to go on strike or not. You’ve negotiated some of the best contracts we have in the state, in counties where we have majority, if not all, Republican leadership, and you have been such an inspiration, I think, to our members and to this union on, you know, even in difficult terrain, or, as you said, in areas that could be deemed conservative.
I think what you’ve done in such a graceful way is to remind all of us that care is not a partisan issue. Care is not a party issue. Care is a humanity issue. And regardless of the political party that you’re a part of, caregiving, at some point is going to have an impact on your life. And you’ve been able to kind of pull back the layers to allow all individuals, regardless of party, to understand the important role that our members as caregivers play in society. And we’re really, really proud of the work that you’ve done. and
We look forward, we’re excited for your leadership. Marcus, I want to say you’re one of the youngest leaders we have in this movement right now, in the labor movement also. We appreciate your dynamism, and we’re really looking forward to continuing all the great work.
So, you all, again: Marcus McCray, Executive Vice President of SEIU 2015. Marcus, really appreciate you being able to join, and I know that we’re going to see you really soon at the local union office at our events that we’re having. Appreciate you being able to join, Marcus.
Marcus McRae: Thanks for having me, Arnulfo.
Arnulfo De La Cruz: And I’d like to now–you know Marcus, as we’ve heard, has worked with many of our caregiver members across the state of California. And Marcus spoke about how powerful our members can be when they come together. One of those powerful, wonderful members from Tehama County is Jerrika. And Jerrika Selyers has been a provider in Tehama County, and we’re really, really excited to have her join us on our podcast, Who Cares! Welcome Jerrika.
Jerrika Selyers: Thank you, Arnulfo. Yeah, I’ve been a caregiver for most of my life. Actually, I’ve been taking care of my mom and even my sister for as long as I can remember. I actually started taking care of my mom on my own when I was 16, when her and I moved to Alabama, and then in 2017 I moved back here to California, learned about IHSS and became her IHSS provider in October of 2018.
It’s been a journey, having to, you know, learn all the different things that caregiving actually entails. Along with, you know, taking care of my mom, I took on multiple other clients. I didn’t realize that caregiving was so broad. I take care of people that have mental illness, dementia, physical mobility issues and even diabetes. Yeah, the last about five years, I have been located right here in Tehama County, taking care of my mother, who I love dearly, and two other wonderful Tehama residents, a mom and another daughter.
Arnulfo De La Cruz: Well, Jerrica, your union is really grateful for your leadership. We’re grateful that we get to have you be part of this family, and I’m sure your mother and the two consumers that you care for are very grateful for everything you do for them.
I always say that a caregiver allows folks to be able to stay in their setting of choice, their home, their apartment, wherever they may live with dignity and to be able to have respect. And it’s caregivers like Jericho who allow those folks to be able to do that. How did you get involved in your union, Jerrika?
Jerrika Selyers: I actually joined in 2015 when I became an IHSS provider in October of 2018 but I did not know anything about my union and what what we did until the summer of 2022. Actually, I got an invite to a barbecue being hosted by our wonderful union, and I saw the wonderful people, and I heard what we were fighting for right here in Tehama County, you know, my own community. And I knew that I wanted to help. I knew I wanted to make a change, and I knew I wanted to be a voice for my fellow providers. And from there, I just kept showing up.
Arnulfo De La Cruz: Yeah, that’s great. All right, there you have it, folks listening: barbecues do work! Okay? Jerrika came to her first union event at a union barbecue. So that’s, that’s a great story.
And you know, I do remember, Jerrika, the moment that Marcus–I don’t know if he called me or he texted me–but you know, we have our victory in Tehama. We have our first ever contract for care workers in Tehama. In a lot of ways, that fight in Tehama, there was threads of similarity with the fight that our members were facing in Fresno. Or historically, years before in San Bernardino, and some of these counties where it felt like we were had having to, you know, cross over a mountain just to be able to get decision-makers in this county to understand the important role that care plays as part of the health delivery system and the infrastructure in keeping Tehama residents healthy, you know? To ensure that their caregivers were actually also able to not live in poverty and live with dignity and to care for their own families. What was it like securing the first ever contract for caregivers in Tehama?
Jerrika Selyers: It was exhilarating. It took a lot of strength and perseverance for me and my fellow colleagues.
You know, my fellow care providers took a lot of time and effort. We showed up to the Board of Supervisors monthly. Some of us even showed up every single week for months at a time, just to tell the Board of Supervisors, you know, our care stories. Some of us even brought our recipients, or, you know, our clients with us to tell them to show their side of it, of how important our jobs are and how important we are in Tehama County.
As you mentioned, this IHSS–it allows us to allow our clients to stay in their homes, to, you know, enjoy that comfort. We called other providers. We called other, you know, recipients in our area, even areas outside of our county, and we asked them to come and join us. We asked them to come stand on the main street with us, holding signs to show our community that we’re here, that we deserve to, you know, be recognized, that our clients deserve the respect and attention that they deserve. So just winning this victory and this first ever contract, it was just that–it was exhilarating.
Arnulfo De La Cruz: You know, maybe sometimes hearing that, Jerrika–not you, but maybe some folks–can under-appreciate the historical nature of this. When a group of caregivers, sometimes it doesn’t take that large of a group, but a group of committed individuals say, “we’re going to come together and not take no as an answer.” And I think the journey of caregivers in Tehema, securing their first contract, is going to go down in the history of the labor movement. And California is a place where a group of caregiver union members came together and, essentially, almost did the impossible. Hopefully, one day we have books written about that.
But right now, you telling your story about what had happened, for someone who wasn’t there, to see kind of how it went down, is incredibly powerful, and really speaks, I think, to your leadership and your strength and courage. And I know that it was not easy to try to get to that point. How do you describe, if there’s a union member or someone who hasn’t joined the union in Tehama, how do you describe to them some of the key benefits of the new contract?
Jerrika Selyers: Some of the key benefits–and actually on a daily basis, I talk to a lot of the new providers in the area. The main two key benefits, I would say, would be the first-time wage supplement. Before this contract, we were only making minimum wage, and now, thanks to this wonderful contract that we finally secured, we will put Tehama IHSS workers on a path to earning over $18 an hour. And hopefully later in the future, it’ll continue to, you know, our next contract after this, we’re going to keep fighting and go even higher. So I would definitely say our big one would be the wage supplement.
I also, you know, believe that it would be the first-time investments for trainings like CPR and dementia and our first aid. Those are very important, you know, key skills that, as a provider, we need. And along with our access to our PPE, like our gloves and our masks, you know, all those things are essential that we didn’t used to have.
Arnulfo De La Cruz: What do these victories mean in the lives of caregivers? They go from, you know, they get a significant increase in their pay, they start to have investments in their own training, access to PPE. What does that impact look like on the ground daily for caregivers?
Jerrika Selyers: For me, to be precise, I have three kids, so this contract meant that I don’t have to struggle between putting the gas in my car to get to and from work or putting food on the table for all three of my beautiful children. You know, I generally drive about 50 miles a week just to get from client to client and to get from home. And that wage increase gives me that little bump that I need to fill my tank completely on a weekly basis.
I’m also able to take better care of myself. For the first time in years, I’m able to actually keep up on taking my own medications, but pay for my own prescriptions and not have to struggle to do that all because of this, you know, this wage increase. I have also been able to participate and do the CPR trainings and the first aid trainings, which was wonderful because I have, like I said, I take care of three clients, and having that first aid training helps. I had a client who fell down, and I was able to, I knew what to do and how to take care of her when she was unconscious.
And honestly, just before winning this contract, I had actually spoke with some of my fellow IHSS workers here in Tehama County who were actually considering leaving IHSS due to the low wages. And now those same workers have chose to stay with IHSS, to stay caring for their clients here in Tehama County, instead of moving and branching to the other counties–all because they have this wage increase and now they have those trainings and all those things that we now have access to thanks to this contract.
Arnulfo De La Cruz: Wow, that’s amazing. And you know, for folks listening who, if you’re a caregiver in any county, and you’re not a union member and you’re curious about the Union and its impact–if you’re a caregiver and a union member and not as familiar with why a contract is important. In the case of a first contract, I always say that’s significant because the contract is there for you to negotiate your wages and benefits and your working conditions. It’s a legal document that you have to organize and make sure that people in power are enforcing what’s in the contract. After you negotiate your first contract, every time that contract expires, you then have an opportunity to make improvements on the contract.
So Jerrika, I know how gratefully you communicated these victories, and I also know that $18 an hour, you’re deserving of so much more, right? And caregivers in Tehama are deserving of so much more. And so I really look forward to continuing to build on that first contract as it relates to wages and how eloquently you spoke about also being empowered to feel like, okay, the county does have my back when it comes to education and training that has a direct impact on the quality of care that I can provide as a caregiver. These are really, really important victories.
So Jerrika again, hearing your story and what you stood for, and the love that you have in your heart for your family, your children, your mother, the people that you care for your family, the sky is the limit for your leadership. We’re so grateful for you to be a leader in this union, and glad that you could join us.
Jerrika Selyers: Thank you, Arnulfo.
Arnulfo De La Cruz: And so folks, there you have it. Another podcast of Who Cares! Listening to Marcus, listening to Jerrika and their stories of sacrifice, struggle–building unity, building our movement. I would be remiss if I’m not reminded that after hearing Jerrika speak about her journey to becoming a caregiver, to getting involved in her union, to be an activist, to ensure that union members in a county that have never had a union contract were able to secure their first union contract.
This is the fastest growing job in America, right? Caregiving is the fastest growing job in America for a very simple reason: we have an aging population and people, rather than going to a skilled care facility or an emergency room, Tthey want to be able to live with dignity in their own homes. This is an opportunity for us to continue to build our movement to support caregivers, to support the people that they care for.
Unfortunately, in the moment that we’re in, we have an administration at the federal level, the President who is hell bent on making cuts to our program, cutting Medicaid. So, I’m an organizer. I want to remind everyone, in the next couple of weeks, in April, when Congress comes back to California, we’re going to let them know, do not cut our program. Don’t cut Medicaid. It saves people’s lives, right? And I would expect, if you are close to a rally or you’re able to meet with your congressional representative or elected official, you let them know about the impact that MediCal would have if it was cut in California, on you, on your family, on your community. We cannot let this happen, but we’re going to have to be really strong in our voice and really strong in lifting up our community and our collective power to ensure that people in power do the right thing for working families and working caregivers in California. So glad you could join us. Please tune in for our next episode of Who Cares!