Elected officials make decisions every day that impact the lives of long term care workers, our clients, and working families across the country.
And with wealthy special interests spending huge sums to attempt to take away our rights and our hard-fought victories, it’s vital that we come together to build our collective power, and to hold politicians accountable for their decisions.
That’s why we’ve created the Caregivers Action Fund (CAF).
Like union membership, the Caregivers Action Fund is an opportunity to invest in the future of our work as long term care providers. The Caregivers Action Fund allows long term care workers to put our dollars together to support candidates who will fight for caregivers, our clients, and our families, and hold politicians accountable.
Because of our members’ investments in the Caregivers Action Fund, we’ve won huge increases in our state’s minimum wage, increased state funding for In-Home Supportive Services, and elected representatives to Congress that are fighting to expand Medicaid and make quality affordable care available to all Americans.
Will you join the fight and become a contributor to the Caregivers Action Fund?
"*" indicates required fields
Frequently Asked Question
The Caregivers Action Fund (CAF) is SEIU Local 2015’s Committee On Political Engagement (COPE) program. It is a grassroots political action fund that gives our union the power to fight for long term care workers beyond the contract negotiating table. The Caregivers Action Fund allows us to come together to support legislation, policies, and candidates that prioritize caregivers, care recipients, and our families.
Membership dues allow us to come together to fight and win better contracts for long term care workers and pay for worker benefits and discount programs. By paying dues, Local 2015 members are also entitled to participate in union meetings and elections, to run for union office, and to vote to ratify contract agreements.
By law, your union is restricted on the use of your union dues for political purposes. That’s why the Caregivers Action Fund is so important.
CAF is a voluntary political fund that gives us the power to take our support for long term care workers further by fighting for pro-caregiver policies and candidates in the community, in the legislature, and at the ballot box.
With so many of our members employed by California’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program or by private skilled nursing facilities, our members’ collective bargaining rights, job security, working conditions, and benefits are often decided directly or indirectly by elected officials at the local and state level. To ensure effective collective bargaining, SEIU Local 2015 must be involved in electing candidates to local and state office who understand and value long term care workers, and who will support policies to improve pay, benefits and working conditions for caregivers across the state.
Contributions to the Caregivers Action Fund go into SEIU’s Political Account for use in local, state, and federal activities. It does not become part of the general treasury. A portion of each contribution goes to the SEIU federal PAC at the International office for use in Presidential, Congressional, or U.S. Senate races.
CAF contributions go toward supporting candidates who will support long term care workers. Contributions are also used to support voter registration, grassroots lobbying by members, get-out-the-vote programs, and legislation that protects SEIU members and their families.
CAF contributions allow SEIU Local 2015 to protect the rights and the victories our members have won year after year: wage increases, contract benefits, safer workplaces, and more.
They also give SEIU Local 2015 the ability to advocate for better policies on long term care, educate our elected officials on the impacts of proposed policy changes, and hold them accountable when they put special interests ahead of caregivers, recipients, and our families.
In short, your CAF contribution gives you and every SEIU Local 2015 member a powerful advocate at the federal, state, and local levels.
Some of the victories we’ve won using CAF contributions:
IHSS Overtime—won at the federal level, now implementing at the state level
Healthcare: Passing the Affordable Care Act
Safe staffing ratios for nursing homes
Rent Control
Higher wages and path to $15
Pension for IHSS workers
Better Contracts
Some of the electoral victories we’ve won with the help of CAF contributions:
Passed Statewide Propositions:
55—protecting essential state funding,
56—the Tobacco Tax to fund MediCAL,
57—Criminal Justice Reform,
58—Multilingual Education Act
Won rent control and housing measures all over the state
Won local Board of Supervisor races all over the state
Any active or retired member in good standing, SEIU Local 2015 employee, or their families can contribute to the Caregivers Action Fund.
Online: SEIU Local 2015 Members and employees can sign up to become contributors to the Caregivers Action Fund by completing the sign-up form above.
By Phone: Call 855-810-2015 from 7 AM to 7 PM, Monday through Friday
By Mail: Print, complete, & mail the CAF contribution form. CLICK HERE to download the form.
In-Person: visit your nearest SEIU Local 2015 office and sign up in person during business hours, M-F, 7 AM – 7 PM. CLICK HERE for a list of office locations.
Where dues are like an investment — helping negotiate higher pay and better benefits, the Caregivers Action Fund is more like an insurance policy — helping protect that investment from those special interests who don’t really have our best interests at heart.