“As President of SEIU Local 2015 and Executive Director of UDW/AFSCME Local 3930 respectively, representing over 700,000 long-term care workers across California, we want to be crystal clear: proposed cuts to In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) and Medi-Cal are unacceptable, shortsighted, and dangerous. This May Revise sends the wrong message. It targets older adults, those with disabilities, immigrants, long-term care workers (who make up the largest low-wage workforce in the state), and low-income families; it continues to hollow out the middle class and erode trust in government. 

“We’ve seen this before. Just last year, caregivers and our allies had to fight back proposals that would have stripped undocumented Californians of access to IHSS. We won because we proved that care is not a line item in a budget—it’s a lifeline for millions. And we’re prepared to fight again.

“Balancing the budget of the 4th largest economy in the world on the backs of caregivers while rewarding the rich is immoral and would destroy the progress and the goals of California’s Master Plan for Aging. This would continue to make California less affordable for seniors, people living with disabilities, and their caregivers, pushing working families out of our state. These drastic cuts threaten the health of our aging population, the survival of immigrant families, and the stability of a low-wage care workforce made up overwhelmingly of women of color.

“By reducing overtime and travel pay for IHSS providers, the Governor’s proposal will dramatically slash caregivers’ pay and limit the hours of care they can offer to their clients, putting lives at risk. And by cutting off access to IHSS for undocumented Californians, the state is not saving money—it’s pushing people into more expensive institutional care and emergency rooms, while abandoning the very workers who kept California afloat through the pandemic.

“Let’s be clear: California cannot claim to be a progressive beacon while balancing the budget on the backs of caregivers, immigrants, and the working poor. Our state is aging and growing more unequal. Cutting the vital programs that keep our elders safe at home and our children cared for is not only immoral—it sets us up for long-term failure.

“Rather than cutting essential services and gutting the very workforce that holds our communities together, California should double down on real solutions: statewide bargaining for IHSS workers, livable wages, and real benefits.

“SEIU Local 2015 and UDW/AFSCME Local 3930 members will not stand by. We will fight alongside our partners, our communities, and every Californian who believes in care, dignity, and equity. We call on the Legislature to reject these harmful cuts and pursue meaningful revenue solutions that bring some of California’s vast wealth back to the people who make this state run—not just the CEOs.

“California must choose care, not cuts.”