New contract provides IHSS workers—mostly immigrants and women of color—a raise of more than 8%
Yolo County, CA – The Yolo Board of Supervisors have voted unanimously to approve a new three-year union contract with In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) workers, successfully concluding negotiations. IHSS providers are members of SEIU Local 2015, the nation’s largest long-term care union representing more than half a million workers across California.
The contract includes a $1.40 increase to the IHSS wage supplement, bringing wages to $18.65 an hour upon implementation by the California Department of Social Services.
IHSS is a social service that allows people who need long-term care to receive it in the comfort and safety of their own homes. In Yolo County, more than 3,000 IHSS workers provide essential long-term care—including paramedical, personal care and household services—to older adults and people with disabilities.
“Investing in long-term care is a win-win,” said Steven Payan, a Yolo home care worker and SEIU Local 2015 bargaining team member. “We save the county millions by keeping older and disabled people out of expensive living facilities. We need a living wage for the crucial work that we do and the positive impact it has on vulnerable community members.”
Yolo home care worker Jose Reyes provides around-the-clock care for his wife, who has suffered multiple strokes and heart attacks. “When my wife’s health worsened and our lives were completely changed, the IHSS program helped to ensure that I could give her the best possible care,” he said. “This contract will ensure more people in our situation can keep their loved one at home and take care of them.”
“Our members and County Supervisors worked together to secure this union contract, which will help IHSS workers provide for themselves and their families,” said SEIU Local 2015 Executive Vice President Kim Evon. “Their collective effort put Yolo on a path toward a more just and equitable future of care where every person in the county can access the long-term care they need.”
SEIU Local 2015 negotiates with county Boards of Supervisors, skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, and private home care agencies across California to secure union contracts, improve wages, benefits and working conditions, and empower workers with a voice in the care they provide.
This year, long-term care workers launched the Our Care Counts campaign in support of Assembly Bill 283, which would create one unified bargaining table for all IHSS workers in the state. Under the fragmented county-by-county system, many of the state’s IHSS workers earn just above the minimum wage. AB 283 is needed to help strengthen the long-term care workforce and increase access to essential care for all who need it.
To learn more about SEIU Local 2015 visit www.SEIU2015.org or on social media @SEIU2015.