SACRAMENTO – On Wednesday, May 9, 2012 the State Department of Social Services was informed by Hewlett Packard (HP), that part of a data shipment containing October to December 2011 payroll data for IHSS providers was missing. 701,000 individuals are potentially impacted. HP mailed the package through the U.S. Postal Service to the Riverside office of the State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF).

The package containing the information was reported as damaged while being shipped by the U.S. Postal Service and the information contained in the package was incomplete upon delivery to the State Compensation Insurance Fund. The personal information included the IHSS provider’s name, Social Security number, case number, IHSS provider number, amount of wages for the period October through December 2011, and their IHSS Recipient’s State Employer Identification Number.

Approximately 701,000 In-Home Supportive Services providers and recipients are potentially impacted.

The California Department of Social Services is in the process of notifying of the affected individuals, has posted information on its website www.cdss.ca.gov, and established a toll free telephone number, (888) 362-8947 for individuals to obtain additional information.

CDSS has notified the three major U.S. credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) of the incident, as well as the California Highway Patrol, State Information Security Officer, and the Attorney General. Furthermore, the department is working with the appropriate state agencies and contractors to review policies regarding information security and determine the action necessary to prevent future incidents.

The department is recommending all In-Home Supportive Services providers place a fraud alert on their accounts with the three major U.S. credit reporting agencies, get copies of their credit reports and take other appropriate steps to monitor and protect their identities.

Additional steps to protect privacy are available at www.privacy.ca.gov.

One of the good things about our Convention is that those worlds can come together and we can essentially burst those bubbles, expose myths, learn truths, and gain knowledge. As you know by now the theme of our Convention is Building Bridges to a Better Future.  Building Bridges is totally about team work, just like building a Union, and not about a singular action.  Please have conversations with those folks around you, find out what their lives are like and what their IHSS experience is and has been.  You’ll be surprised at how different their perspective is regarding the very same program that we all work under, In-Home Supportive Services.  It is only through these conversations that we can truly begin to build that Bridge to a better future.

Your CUHW Local 4034 has been stepping out of its bubble for a while- led by aggressive bargaining teams headed by our Executive Director Loretta Stevens.  For example, our contract campaign here in Shasta county saved health care and the wages of our workers.  In Humboldt County, a group of Good Ol’ Boys have been in charge, enriching their pockets while lacking a plan to fund long-term care in their county. They refuse to step out of their bubble, so we’re helping them by launching a media campaign entitled Have A Heart for In-Home Care.  You will see video clips from this action during the Convention.  In addition, we are helping the public burst the bubble that included a damning myth perpetuated by the Schwarzenegger administration that all in-home care providers are just a bunch of criminals ripping the system off.  We’ve raised awareness of the plight of the impoverished, indentured in-home care workers in that county that have been begging for the relief and respect they deserve for over 10 years.

In all of our other counties CUHW is saying ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.  We’ve demonstrated that we’re not afraid to declare impasse- once again, breaking out of the bubble of the past, always moving forward, moving closer, as we continue to construct that Bridge to a Better Future.

We are piercing the bubble when our Constitution Committee suggests an amendment that combines our Secretary/Treasurer slot and creates a new position- second Vice President.  The second Vice President will be in charge of education and training.  The education of our membership is going to be hugely important as we make strides to gain the long awaited transition from a domestic servant to health care professionals under sweeping IHSS reform that is just a heartbeat away.  Additionally, there are more suggested constitutional changes that empower our secretaries to work in tandem with our Second Vice President to be the voice of our membership education.  We have already funded and established our own training program, called the Leads Program, right here in Shasta County. You will hear more about these training opportunities in the near future.

Bubble breaking news is that we have entrusted the Vice President with overseeing our political programs at the chapter level and working with the Vice Chairs, her counterparts as political officers, as well as stabilizing our internal political staff, and securing the services of two individuals who live and breathe politics during this critically significant time in the history of in-home care- at the Federal and state levels.

During this convention the Resolutions Committee will put forth bubble bursting policy that will guide CUHW over the next several years. CUHW has emerged with fresh ideas out of the bubble as we look to have our statewide elections this August.  Our statewide elections will include two weeks where you can vote online or by calling a Toll Free number, using your cell phone or land line.

Once again stepping out of the bubble, we have launched our Volunteer Incentive Program that allows our members to earn points and goodies for participation in union activities as well as our Community Partners Program that provides discounts to our members at businesses for showing their Union cards…a win-win situation, from all accounts.

CUHW is bursting all myths by being truly membership driven.  For example, you have an in-home care Provider as your President.  And your other statewide officers also work as providers; offering leadership opportunities to anyone that is interested in stepping-up, and viewing staff as our teammates, not as our leaders…truly breaking the bubble.

We’ve established offices in more than 9 of our counties.  Most offices have phone banking and web broadcasting capabilities and include large screen televisions.  Email and text message updates that alert our members of breaking developments in IHSS is another bubble breaking CUHW move.

I personally want to step out of the bubble of thought on IHSS reform in California and suggest that we start with a Provider Bill of Rights that guarantees the protection of our well-being as well as the rights of our workers in so many areas, regardless of the legislative amendment that creates or continues the present funding devices.

It should begin by stating that we are human beings and deserve the right to make an informed choice to work for consumers with infectious diseases.  Being placed in harm’s way without our consent is wrong, wrong.  We deserve the right of knowledge.

We deserve the right to file a grievance against someone who has asked us to do something illegal or immoral just so we can be paid.
We deserve the right to know if a consumer is violent or hostile before we take a job, not after we have been either physically injured or mentally abused.
We deserve the right to paid time for medical appointments and transportation.
We deserve the right to be paid under Social Security for a lifetime of work for a family member.
We deserve paid holidays, we deserve the right to be treated with compassion and respect for the difficulties we face in our jobs with fair pay, health care benefits, and education opportunities, just like all other work forces.

Not only do we deserve it but we should be demanding it!  We need to step out of our bubbles and seize the moment of IHSS reform and MAKE IT TRUE REFORM!  We can guide our own destiny!  We cannot afford to be a group of bubbles going casually downstream, pushed by larger forces into the larger body of water, getting lost, silently being diminished.

I say to you now, we need to be on that bridge, working hard as a team, to build a better future for ourselves and those that we serve.  Are you ready?  I will be waiting for you. See you there.  Thank You.

Your President,

Gail Ennis – CUHW Statewide President

We’re here this week because we believe in opportunity. We believe in each other. We believe that our future will be better than our past. While serving as your Vice President I’ve witnessed the power of these beliefs and what can happen when people come together to support one another.

We’re all part of a CUHW family that takes pride in its diversity. This room is filled with Caregivers from counties throughout our great state- Caregivers from a variety of backgrounds that represent a number of races, religions and cultures. Our diversity presents opportunities for understanding and growth through unity. At CUHW we understand that creating opportunities for our members requires resources.

I’m proud to say that over the course of the last couple years we’ve made our presence felt in the counties we represent. Many of you in this room today were a part of those efforts. We manned booths at county fairs, attended local festivals, contributed to local food drives and participated in many more efforts to improve our communities. But we also made efforts to improve the lives of our members by providing opportunities to learn, work and contribute talent to the CUHW family.

We’ve reached out to you, our membership, and incorporated your talents into our efforts to remain member-driven. We used member organizers to help conduct the largest successful in-home care organizing campaign in over a decade, we used members to establish union-wide programs as well as lobby our elected officials to protect the IHSS program and much, much more. We recognize that our members are talented and will continue our efforts to support them by providing the resources necessary for their success.

I look forward to the journey in front of us. We’ve come a long way in just a few short years. We’ve faced difficult challenges time and time again- yet we’ve always risen to the occasion. As we move forward together I find strength in our commitment to improving each of your lives by providing the opportunities that make us the most member-driven union in California.

Thank you for all that you do Brothers and Sisters. Be well.

In Solidarity,
Linda Zavala- CUHW Statewide Vice President

CUHW won’t back down.  It is a simple message that our members have been demonstrating across the state.  CUHW’s members are strongest when we stand together; and as your Treasurer, I am committed to seeing that the resources of our local are committed to fighting those who would knock us down.

I am often asked where members’ dues go.  Beyond the easily visible things like offices, staff, and mailing like this newsletter; your dues go into the fight to protect homecare providers and the consumers we care for.  From legal battles with the state, to research for better contracts, CUHW does a lot that is not as visible as a local union office.

For example, your union dues are going into the fight over the 20% cuts to consumer hours.  Without CUHW and our sister unions taking the state to court, those cut would have already gone into effect.  As a provider I know how devastating deep cuts like that would be to all of us.  CUHW won’t back down.

This fall millionaires in Southern California will push a proposition that would eliminate CUHW members’ voice in politics.  This proposition if passed, would allow anti-IHSS groups to spend unlimited amounts money in their attempts to destroy IHSS as we know it.  And while those groups fight us, our hands would be tied, it would make it against the law for CUHW to support pro-IHHS politicians.  CUHW members cannot let this proposition pass.  CUHW won’t back down.

One of those anti-IHSS groups, CalTax, is proposing eliminating IHHS benefits for up to 80% of current consumers and making it next to impossible for a consumer’s relative to work as their provider.  Can you imagine what IHSS would be like if CalTax had their way?  Now imagine if the laws in California said CUHW members could not fight these kind of proposals in Sacramento.  CUHW won’t back down.

We face a lot of uncertainty in the coming months and years; however, CUHW has never been stronger.  Together we will fight back and together we will win!

In Solidarity,
Justin D. Meyers – CUHW Statewide Treasurer

Welcome to CUHW’s 2012 Convention! We are facing proposed changes to the IHSS (In-Home Supportive Services) program in California and have serious budget cut challenges to address.

“Let’s Get Healthy at Home!” is our campaign to improve and transform In-Home Care in California. We are working with the other homecare unions to support an innovative approach that will stabilize long-term care providers’ roles and create better health outcomes for recipients.

It is a shame that there are a few counties like Humboldt that are still paying Caregivers only $8/hour (minimum wage) and provide no health benefits as of March 2012. The issue of paying poverty wages for Caregivers is impacting the ability to meet the long term care needs of our community and must be addressed. We believe these issues can be better addressed with more of a statewide approach that pays attention to the In-Home Care needs and disparities that exist from county to county.

We need an In-Home Care system that works better for recipient consumers, Caregivers and their families. Let’s work together to lead and help manage our future so that we adequately address the concerns of In-Home Caregivers and the few hundred thousands of individuals that currently need IHSS. We must also prepare for the future. In 10 years it is estimated that 800,000 Californians will need IHSS to remain, safely, independently and healthier at home. The current IHSS program is unprepared for meeting this challenge.

We know that change is not easy and it can be very scary. But we also know that with proposed change there are opportunities to create positive outcomes for the recipient consumers, as well as, for rural county In-Home Care providers that are represented by CUHW.

CUHW’s leadership is committed to providing member engagement opportunities to ensure that your voices, suggestions on how the IHSS program can and should be improved are heard and represented. We want you as active participants in the process and for you to be regularly kept informed on the issues that matter.

“CUHW Gives Hope”. Together we can and will make a difference in “Building Bridges to a Better Future”.  Thank you.

In Solidarity,
Loretta Stevens – CUHW Executive Director

“Legislators did the right thing by standing with seniors, people with disabilities and their caregivers and rejecting these brutal IHSS cuts,” said Richard Jackson, a home care worker from Sacramento.  “After listening to our voices and crunching the numbers, there’s no denying that home care is not only the most compassionate way to care for our loved ones, it’s far more cost effective than institutionalization.”

Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 on Health and Human Services, chaired by Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell, rejected the governor’s proposal to cut services for more than 250,000 seniors and people with disabilities that count on home care to maintain their independence and dignity. The cut to “domestic and related services” would have eliminated help home care consumers receive with activities that are crucial to their health and well-being such as bathing, feeding, laundry, and shopping. With the loss of corresponding federal and county funds factored in, the proposal would have resulted in a devastating $630 million cut to home care.

People with disabilities and their caregivers represented by SEIU, UDW and CUHW testified that cuts proposed for IHSS year after year point to the need for a policy solutions to strengthen and stabilize the state’s home care system and provide better care for California’s aging population.

“It’s dismaying that home care services that support the health and dignity of 400,000 elderly Californians and people with disabilities are put on the chopping block year after year,” said Lisa Davidson an in-home caregiver from Placer County. “Our health care and home care costs won’t be sustainable as our population ages and grapples with chronic disease unless we coordinate and strengthen these systems to support better health outcomes and protect consumers’ choice to stay healthy at home.”

A coalition of caregivers and seniors recently launched the “Let’s Get Healthy at Home” campaign focused on the need to preserve the principle of consumer-directed care, provide access to training and professional development for providers, and to ensure that care is coordinated to better manage chronic conditions and preventive health needs. The result will be a more efficient system that minimizes nursing home stays, emergency room visits and hospitalization.

2012 CUHW Convention Live Stream

Convention Schedule Updated (Spanish)