**MEDIA ADVISORY**
WHEN:
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Time: 9am-12pm PT
WHERE:
Fresno County Board of Supervisors
Fresno Hall of Records, 2281 Tulare St, Fresno 93724
WHO:
Long-term care workers (members of SEIU 2015); Supporters and allies of the SEIU Local 2015 community.
WHAT:
Fresno In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) workers – members of SEIU Local 2015, the nation’s largest long-term care union and California’s largest labor union representing more than 450,000 nursing home workers and home care providers – are demanding that Fresno’s Board of Supervisors address the care industry’s growing provider shortage, low wages, and lack of benefits and protections.
In Fresno County, the board threatens to completely remove healthcare coverage in order to bring their shockingly lowball offer of a 15¢ raise up to 85¢. Supervisors have even noted that many providers qualify for Medi-Cal—a tacit acknowledgement that the wages they offer caregivers are poverty wages. Fresno County’s current IHSS wage is $16.60 with a $0.85 health benefit contribution.
Some Fresno County Supervisors have misrepresented their offer by falsely claiming that their proposal seeks to “extend benefits to all.” In reality, the board’s offer would cancel county-provided healthcare coverage and push IHSS providers onto government assistance like Medi-Cal to continue their tacit support for failed solutions.
WHY:
Recent polling of in-home care workers in Fresno County underscores the urgent challenges that many of these essential workers face in making ends meet.
- Working multiple jobs: Over 80% of IHSS providers in Fresno County reported working multiple jobs – at least some of the time – just to make ends meet. That’s nearly 4 out of every 5 provider’s in the county.
- Food insecurity: More than 42% of IHSS providers in Fresno County experience consistent food insecurity, relying on CalFresh and/or food banks at least monthly.
- Housing disparity: About 59% of those we surveyed spend at least 50% of their income on housing, and over 19% spend more than 75%.
- Healthcare disparity: 55.7% of IHSS providers in Fresno County are sometimes or often unable to access medication because they cannot afford the cost of prescriptions..
- About 58% of IHSS providers also reported that sometimes or often are prevented from visiting the doctor due to concerns about cost.
Press Contacts:
DKC News
SEIU@dkcnews.com
On Site Contacts:
UaL@seiu2015.org
vickiv@seiu2015.org