Wisconsin – Child Care Providers Win Landmark First Contract

Madison, Wisconsin

Building a Better Future – Wisconsin child care providers — with help from their bargaining team members — have won a real chance to improve their lives and the services they offer.

Photo Credit: Robert Allen

Thousands of Wisconsin child care providers — members of AFSCME/Child Care Providers Together (AFSCME/CCPT) — have 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.

Part of Wisconsin Councils 40 and 48, AFSCME/CCPT represents about 7,000 in-home child care providers — self-employed, independent contractors who are licensed and certified by the state.

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

The three-year agreement — approved in June — is the result of a meet-and-confer process authorized by an Executive Order signed in 2006 by Gov. Jim Doyle (D). With their new contract, the providers now play a formal role in the regulatory process, such as making sure the rules and regulations that govern their work are fair and consistent.

The providers also have a grievance procedure to ensure due process, a committee to address future subsidy increases and an extensive provider “Bill of Rights.”

The state will 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.