Home Care Workers Vote To Join Union

In a move that is destined to improve healthcare for thousands of Massachusetts seniors and people with disabilities, 22,000 Massachusetts home care workers have voted to join 1199 SEIU, the healthcare workers union. The vote passed by a landslide margin of 94% Yes to 6% No.

"I am proud to stand here with 1199 SEIU to support the dedicated health care workers who offer care and compassion to us all. Home is where people want to live and PCAs make it possible for seniors and people with disabilities to live at home with independence and dignity," Mayor Menino said. "By ensuring fair compensation and benefits for PCAs, we can improve the lives of both consumers and healthcare workers. This is a great step forward for the people of Boston and the entire state."

“This is a tremendous organizing victory for our union and we welcome our 22,000 newest members. Raising the standards for PCAs in the home health industry is critical to the livelihood of thousands of low-wage workers in Massachusetts and around the country,” said George Gresham, President of 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. “This historic vote should serve as a beacon of hope and progress in the struggle to attain justice and a living wage for home care workers.” Personal care attendants (PCAs) from across the state voted in the historic election through special mail-in ballot starting on October 16th.

The election was the largest of its kind in the history of New England. “This is a great day for home care workers, and also for the people they care for,” said 1199 SEIU Executive Vice President Mike Fadel. “Stabilizing the PCA workforce will make it easier for seniors and people with disabilities to live at home with independence and dignity.”

Currently, PCA home care workers do not have health insurance benefits, despite being caregivers themselves. They also receive no sick days or vacation time. Many of the consumers in the state struggle to keep caregivers on the job, as 40-60% of PCAs leave their positions every year for jobs with benefits or higher compensation. The vote gives personal care attendants a voice for better wages and benefits by uniting them with the largest local healthcare union in the country. It also organizes PCAs in a way that senior and disability advocates say will make them more accessible to those who require their essential services.

"Home care workers perform some of the most difficult and most important jobs in our society. Yet all too often, their indispensable work is under-valued and under-appreciated,” said Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy in a statement of support, “I congratulate 1199 SEIU and the home care workers of Massachusetts on this significant achievement, and I look forward to working with them in the years ahead to protect these hard-won rights."

"This will significantly improve the lives of individuals who use PCAs," said Bill Henning, Executive Director of the Boston Center for Independent Living. "This vote goes a long way toward correcting one of the biggest challenges facing seniors and people with disabilities in Massachusetts today, which is the constant difficulty in finding and retaining attendants."

“I’ve been doing this job for over twenty years and I love it, but it’s hard to support a family making $10.84 per hour with no sick days,” says PCA Hertenza Spence of Lynn, MA. “It was a no-brainer for me. Now we have hope to stay on the job and keep everybody happy and healthy, including myself.” 1199 SEIU members say the victory will allow the union to devote even more energy and resources to another top priority – the effort to achieve free and fair union elections for the Commonwealth's non-union hospital workers. 1199 SEIU, Mayor Thomas M. Menino, and the Boston City Council have called on Boston hospital CEOs to pledge they will not intimidate or harass hospital workers during union elections.