44 Cents Makes No Sense

September 25, 2008

WORTH MORE THAN PENNIES – Members of United Domestic Workers of America in San Diego County rally on Sept. 16 to demand a $1.50 hourly raise. The county has offered just 44 cents more an hour, over three years.

Photo Credit: Barb Maynard

Gas prices are topping $4 a gallon, food keeps getting more expensive and the cost of living in San Diego County is higher than the national average.  That’s why we’re outraged that county officials there are offering to raise the income of 22,000 San Diego home care providers by a paltry 44 cents an hour over three years.

The providers, who care for elderly and people with disabilities, are independent contractors represented by United Domestic Workers of America (UDWA), an AFSCME affiliate. They make just $9.25 an hour – far less than their counterparts in most other urban California jurisdictions, and well below a livable wage for this county.

“You make $9.25 an hour here in San Diego County. That's poverty wages,” UDWA Local 3930 President Laura Reyes told AM 600 KOGO.

Since their contract expired in January, they’ve demanded a living wage – just $1.50 more per hour. But mediation has led nowhere, so about 7,000 UDWA members and supporters called attention to their cause on Sept. 16 with a rally in front of the San Diego County Administrative Building.

Learn more about their fight for justice. Read this story from NBCSanDiego.com and watch a video news report at 10News.com.