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17,000 NY Child Care Providers Seek First Contract After Voting To Go Union

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February 19, 2008

By Doug Cunningham

Seventeen thousand home child care workers across New York State voted to join the Civil Servant Employees Association affiliated with AFSCME. CSEA’s Jill Ascencio.

[Asencio]: "This is probably the biggest union election this year in New York this year and maybe even in the entire country. They will enter negotiations with the New York State Office of Children and Family Services to work on some major issues. There are basically thee major issues that motivated the providers and their interest in forming a union. And that’s late and inaccurate payments for their payments, and lack of benefits, and also a lack of voice in their work.”

CSEA has organized 25,000 child care providers in New York State over the past year. New York Governor, Eliot Spitzer made it possible for New York home childcare providers to join unions when he signed an executive order in May of 2007.

(From the Workers Independent News radio report for February 19, 2008. Download the MP3 file.)

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