Wisconsin Child Care Providers Win Landmark First Contract

June 10, 2008

BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE – Landmark statewide agreement gives Wisconsin child care providers a real chance to improve their lives and the services they offer. Bargaining committee members are shown here.

Photo Credit: Robert Allen

Thousands of Wisconsin child care providers – members of AFSCME/Child Care Providers Together (AFSCME/CCPT) – have overwhelmingly ratified a historic agreement with the state that will provide them with new rights and benefits, and help to improve their lives in the years ahead.

“This is a monumental breakthrough for professional child care providers,” says Madison provider Oma Vic McMurray, who is also a member of the union’s bargaining team. “We finally have a seat at the table and a real voice in making sure children across this state get the best care possible.”

The providers’ three-year agreement is the result of a meet-and-confer process authorized by an Executive Order signed in 2006 by Gov. Jim Doyle (D). It gave the providers the right to form a union and to negotiate improvements to child care services they provide. Today, AFSCME/CCPT (part of Wisconsin Councils 40 and 48) represents about 7,000 in-home child care providers – self-employed, independent contractors who are licensed and certified by the state.

Specifically, the agreement gives the providers a formal role in the regulatory process, such as making sure the rules and regulations that govern their work are applied fairly and consistently. It also establishes a grievance procedure to ensure due process, sets up a committee to address future subsidy increases, and an extensive provider “Bill of Rights,” such as the right to have a union representative present during any meetings or hearings affecting the providers.

The state also agreed to work with CCPT members on ways to make comprehensive health insurance coverage accessible and affordable.

“This is a tremendous step forward for professional child care providers, but it is only a first step,” says member Genniene Lovelace-Michel of Sauk City, who is also on the union’s bargaining team.

Child care providers have won the right to form a union with AFSCME in 10 states since 2005. The victory in Wisconsin is part of a national movement to gain dignity and strength by joining with AFSCME, which represents about 188,000 family child care providers, plus more than 15,000 day care and Head Start workers, in California, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.  

Read more about the Wisconsin agreement in The Capitol Times.