An Overdue Raise and Short Pay

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND & LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO

In July, home care providers in Maryland's Personal Care program will get something they haven't seen in 19 years: a raise. The providers, members of AFSCME's Maryland Quality Home Care Campaign, won the 10-percent hike for the 3,000 workers who care for the elderly and people with disabilities. Says Audra White, "This hike is an important first step, and we had to fight to get it."

Although they save the state millions by enabling their clients to live at home, the providers receive no health care insurance, paid leave or workers' comp.

Cathilia Flores volunteers at the food bank set up to help her co-workers at the New Mexico State University (NMSU) in Las Cruces. March 15 paychecks ran $50 to $300 short for NMSU hourly staff because of a newly implemented pay system creating a real hardship for these underpaid workers.

"There was a true need for us to do something," says Flores, who is a member of the AFSCME NMSU Organizing Committee.

"People were used to receiving equal amounts each pay day and had budgeted based on that for decades. We worked with community groups to provide food baskets to anyone who needed them. I couldn't believe it when we found out we had helped 200 NMSU families." — Susan Ellen Holleran