L.A. Rally Supports Home Care Providers
June 03, 2009
NO CUTS! – Members of United Domestic Workers Home Care Providers Union (UDW/AFSCME) rally in Los Angeles to stop funding cuts. (Photo credit: Mike Norris)
Members of United Domestic Workers Home Care Providers Union (UDW/AFSCME) and other service worker unions – and their allies – recently participated in the largest demonstration of support for California’s home care providers in state history.
Union members traveled to Los Angeles last month to march and rally in support of critical public programs, especially In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), one of California’s most cost-effective programs for promoting independent living among seniors and the disabled.
Poll results demonstrate that a majority of California voters oppose cuts to such public services, but favor higher taxes on the wealthy, and on specific industries like oil, tobacco and alcohol. These findings offer a blueprint for a progressive state budget.
“The solutions are right there in front of us,” says San Diego home care provider Laura Reyes, who is president of UDW and an AFSCME International vice president. “The voters have spoken. The legislature and governor just need to listen to the will of the people.”
In May, voters considered five state ballot propositions that would have helped to reduce the state’s $20 billion deficit, including one that would have handcuffed future spending decisions by imposing a cap on state spending. All of them were rejected. Now, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) wants to shrink the state’s wage contribution to IHSS providers to $8 an hour, the minimum wage in California.
The next step is for lawmakers to develop a progressive state budget in 2010 that does not depend on ballot initiatives.
“We want real solutions to the state’s budget problems,” says Douglas Moore Jr., executive director of UDW and also an AFSCME International vice president.
For more on the rally, check out this story in The Los Angeles Times, and learn more about AFSCME-represented home care workers.
