After an intense set of bargaining sessions, Shasta County’s in-home care community has something to smile about.
“Shasta County is surrounded by some of the highest mountain ranges in California and our membership climb those mountains in so many ways,” said CUHW President Gail Ennis. “Our new contract means stability for the IHSS program locally for the next several years. Our members were the only bargaining unit not to have a rollback in the county. We transitioned our members to a new health care plan, and the best part of all, we won access to Orientations. It was accomplished through the dedication and determination of the membership, whose fight back attitude never faulted as well as support from our coalition partners. This chapter is the standard for what all chapters should be and
could be. I am particularly proud of the leaders- they have more than fulfilled their duties to their county members with the highest level of dedication and their leadership skills are in full bloom. We are recognized as a player in Shasta County. There were over a thousand folks at our Oasis event and that gave pause to the Board of Supervisors. They saw the strength of the workforce coming together. This is the perfect climate for our 2012 convention to take place. Other counties will be aware of CUHW’s all or nothing attitude and it will empower our workforce elsewhere. These folks will be traveling to Humboldt and are willingly prepared to take on that fight with their brothers and sisters to help forge a path for a first time contract. From this fight we will send some of our soldiers to our unrecognized counties to work as Member Organizers to spread the word of the impossible becoming possible.”
There are over 2,000 in-home caregivers in Shasta County that care for the county’s seniors and disabled populations. Each day they provide a myriad of services that range from bathing and cooking to administering medicine and IV care. At the beginning of negotiations, county in-home caregivers faced the option of a reduction in their wages or losing their health insurance benefits. Facing a difficult battle to protect the IHSS community, county in-home caregivers and their allies rallied to beat back the most serious rollbacks.
“Keeping the health insurance for county in-home caregivers was so important,” said Shasta County Chapter Chair Cynthia Lahey. “Health insurance for county in-home caregivers means that recipients (IHSS) can keep good workers that would otherwise have to find a job that has health benefits.”
Last week, county IHSS workers overwhelmingly approved a new contract that included a wage increase and maintained health insurance benefits. The victory in Shasta County should encourage IHSS caregivers in many of CUHW’s counties throughout California that are currently engaged in difficult bargaining sessions where in-home caregiver wages and benefits are threatened.