Lake County”s In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) workers voted in California United Homecare Workers Unions (CUHW) as its union Wednesday, and met Friday with county representatives for its first negotiations.
According to IHSS provider David Smith, the vote showed 90.9 percent of IHSS workers in favor of CUHW representing them in contract negotiations with the county”s Public Authority (PA), which is headed up by the Board of Supervisors in its capacity as the PA”s board of directors.
IHSS providers were represented by the United Domestic Workers of America (UDW) previously; CUHW was the union designated to negotiate on UDW”s behalf since its formation in September of 2005.
Negotiations between IHSS” PA and UDW began in 2003 and dragged through years of internal changes, conflict with the county and attempts at hammering out a contract agreeable to all.
IHSS provider Christy Murch started a support group for IHSS workers in 2006 in response to what she identified as a stark lack of training. She brought her concerns before the BOS during the public input section of its March 18 meeting last year.
Since then supervisors Ed Robey and Anthony Farrington, both on the IHSS advisory board, worked out a proposal for IHSS workers to receive an increase in wages and training for those willing to undergo a criminal background check and random drug testing in order to sign into a registry.
UDW went back to the negotiating table with the IHSS PA after the county supervisors directed the groups to do so in a June 2006 impasse hearing, where a $2 wage increase was proposed for those in the registry.
UDW expressed its opposition to the idea of keeping the minimum wage for providers who were unwilling to receive training and submit to drug testing and background checks.
According to information on CUHW”s Web site, the union is concerned about how the county”s proposed two-tier wage system would affect worker”s rights. Those who receive training, pass the criminal background check and drug testing would get an hourly wage of $8.25 for the first year and $8.80 for the second; those workers who did not submit to the testing would get $7.75 the first year and $8 the second.
Matthew Maldonado of CUHW”s executive offices said IHSS workers, and the union will start with a clean slate and negotiate a contract for the workers that would address such issues as wages and benefits, training, background checks and random drug testing.
According to Maldonado, IHSS workers were not previously allowed to go to the media to get public support for any issues of concern, or to go on strike.
“We plan on letting everybody know exactly what”s going on in negotiations,” said Maldonado. “We don”t plan on holding anything back. We never have and we never will.”
County Social Services Director Carol Hutchingson said that the negotiations have been ongoing for three years to establish a contract between IHSS workers and the county.
County Council Anita Grant said it is common practice for a union to keep negotiations still under way confidential. While she is not personally involved in the proceedings, she noted that labor unions may have bylaws specifying more or less stringent guidelines.
CUHW was formed by an agreement between Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) ? the parent union for UDW ? to create a joint union to represent home care workers in 25 counties in California, with Tyrone Freeman as its president.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
