The Value of Care

Abstract

Homecare workers make up a significant segment of the total direct care workforce for these elderly and disabled. In particular, homecare providers help their elderly and disabled clients in performing their basic daily activities, such as bathing, housecleaning, meal preparation, shopping and getting to and from medical appointments. The ability for the elderly and disabled to live in their own residences and receive care there saves state governments millions every year. Candace Howes, associate professor of economics at Connecticut College, notes, "Because California relies so much on homecare instead of nursing homes, California's per capita Medicaid expenditures on long-term care are approximately half of the national average." This launched a ten-year campaign to establish public authorities in every county in California and win organizing rights for homecare workers throughout the state. Today, as a result of this work, over 300,000 homecare workers are organized into unions, 200,000 with SEIU. In 1999, when over 75,000 Los Angeles homecare workers joined Local 434B, SEIU made national headlines for winning the largest union victory since 1937. In 2000 and 2001, the states of Oregon and Washington followed California's example and granted public authority status to homecare workers, resulting in thousands more workers organized into unions. Just this year, 41,000 homecare workers in Michigan voted to join SEIU. The great visibility of labor's victories in homecare has also made it a target for anti-union politicians. In 2005, in an effort to offset a huge budget shortfall, Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a reduction of California's share of homecare worker wages to the minimum wage of $6.75, as well as no longer funding healthcare coverage. Schwarzenegger has also proposed the repealing of public authorities. Many advocates for a fully funded homecare program see this attempt at rollbacks as a shortsighted way to balance the state's budget. Any savings from the homecare cuts would be offset by increased state costs to other programs, according to the California Budget Project.