Roughly 3,000 caregivers in a state-funded homecare program for aging seniors are now united in 1199SEIU, the fastest growing healthcare workers union in the state.

The home healthcare workers serve aging seniors through the state’s Consumer Directed Care (CDC) program, which allows seniors to train, schedule, direct and supervise their own caregivers to assist them with their homemaking tasks and personal care, so they can live independently at home.

1199SEIU already represents more than 58,000 home healthcare workers who serve seniors and people with disabilities through the state’s MassHealth-funded Personal Care Attendant (PCA) program. CDC caregivers perform the same duties as PCAs yet aren’t recognized as part of their bargaining unit. In 2023, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a law allowing CDC caregivers under the Executive Office of Aging and Independence the right to form a union, just like their PCA peers.

“For me and many of my fellow CDC caregivers, who believed we were already a part of 1199SEIU, this victory is long overdue,” said Luz Echeverry, a CDC caregiver from Lawrence. “I love being able to care for others, and now I will be able to fight for my own well-being and future.”

CDC caregivers receive a base wage of $19.50/hr, below what 1199SEIU PCAs won in their current contract, and they are excluded from a wage scale that pays more to PCAs with additional years of experience, as well as from training and advancement opportunities.

“Thousands of homecare workers in Massachusetts care for older adults and people with disabilities in their homes. They all deserve the same wages and benefits, regardless of which state program the person they care for is enrolled in,” said Rebecca Gutman, 1199SEIU Vice President of Homecare. “As Massachusetts’ population ages and the number of older adults with disabilities rises, we must transform these jobs from low wage work to careers with pathways for advancement.”

Homecare workers play an integral part in Massachusetts’ healthcare system by allowing more people to stay in their homes, jobs, and communities, avoiding the need for more intensive care settings such as nursing homes and frequent overnight hospital stays.

CDC caregivers will bargain with the state’s newly formed CDC Workforce Council starting in the fall.