Latest update 08/13/2024 Santa Cruz County IHSS Providers Held their first Board of Supervisors Action
On August 13, approximately 35 SEIU 2015 members gathered at the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, joined by four speakers advocating for improved healthcare and livable wages. We had supporters from SEIU 521 join us in solidarity, emphasizing the need for better working conditions, livable wages, and healthcare for county care providers while standing alongside their 2015 union siblings in purple gear. The presence of these workers highlighted the growing concern for caregivers to have access to have quality healthcare and livable wages within the community. See photos from the action here and press release here.
Santa Cruz County IHSS workers’ hourly wage of $18.75 is about half the actual wage needed to meet basic cost of living in Santa Cruz County, which is $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. That is a real shame, and workers need to have their issues addressed by those in power who rely on caregivers to help keep communities thriving. For so many Santa Cruz caregivers, this is a life-and-death issue.
Their voices and advocacy serve as a powerful reminder of the ongoing need for positive change and collective action to address these important societal challenges. Santa Cruz workers are not asking for a lot here. They only want to have their wages and healthcare benefits reflect the essential work that they do for the Santa Cruz community at large.
Santa Cruz caregivers are on the frontlines of home care in the County. They help keep people alive. They work to protect and sustain those they care for. With all the work they are doing, Santa Cruz caregivers should not have to worry about making ends meet. They need to be able to survive, and they cannot do that properly without having their very valid concerns addressed. The meeting on August 13th demonstrated a strong community commitment to advancing home care causes within the Santa Cruz area.
Stay tuned for new updates as Santa Cruz next bargaining session is set for August 16, 2024.
Latest update 5/22/2024 Santa Cruz County IHSS Providers Prepare for Contract Negotiations
On May 22nd, Santa Cruz In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) care providers gathered before the county’s Board of Supervisors for a budget hearing to remind them of the hard work that caregivers do for the Santa Cruz community. Members also reminded them that their contract is coming up and to think about how much commitment caregivers give to caring for the community’s older adults and those with disabilities.
The Board needs to remember something: that IHSS providers are essential workers, and need better healthcare and livable wages. For Santa Cruz In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) members, it has been difficult for them to make ends meet on the current IHSS wage along with insufficient healthcare, many Santa Cruz IHSS members are being pushed to their limit. They need more. They deserve better.
**Stay tuned for our recent results of our Santa Cruz IHSS Economic Indicator Survey that many of you filled out this month.