Yan Mei Lei, right, is among the workers at Boston’s Medical Resources Agency who overcame threats and intimidation to win their historic organizing victory.

There is power in a union. And Massachusetts homecare workers were feeling it in June.

Inspired by 35,000 Personal Care Attendants (PCAs) who in mid-June won a historic $15 an hour wage, (See story on page 8.) a group of 236 impoverished private home care agency workers at Boston’s Medical Resources Home Health Corp. took on the boss. And on June 30, undeterred by a vicious, illegal anti-union campaign, they voted to unionize.

The victory announcement came at the Massachusetts Statehouse during the June 30 celebration of the PCA wage victory, giving the already-joyful crowd a reason to cheer louder and longer.

“We have very low wages and almost no benefits. And we have been fighting for almost two years. We have been fighting to raise our wages and today we voted that we want a union. For us to stand up was not easy. But it shows that when we fight we win. This victory is not just for Medical Resources workers. It is for the whole community,” said Yan Mei Lei, a Medical Resources caregiver. “From the bottom of my heart I want to thank every single person in the struggle.”

The election, which was overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, makes Medical Resources the first Massachusetts private home care agency workers to form a union. Workers held a series of rallies and letter-writing campaigns, and sent an online petition to company executives; in a show of solidarity, workers across the state united behind the Medical Resources caregivers and their cause, demanding management end their illegal attempts to sway the election. The vote also gained momentum from 1199SEIU’s leadership in the growing Fight for $15 movement.

“As home care workers we are asking only for that which is right – a fair wage and the ability to continue caring for our clients while also being able to care for our own families,” said Ling Zhu Cao, a Medical Resources employee from Malden, MA.

With offices in the heart of Boston, Medical Resources has been a long-time purveyor of poverty wages. The company is owned by Angelo, Gordon, Co., one of the biggest, richest private equity firms in the country. The firm funnels much of the profit from its taxpayerfunded fees directly to the owners, while nearly all of the 236 caregivers are eligible for food stamps, subsidized housing or subsidized health insurance.

“We have joined 1199SEIU and the Fight for $15 because as home care workers we want a living wage, a voice at work, and dignity for ourselves and our clients,” added Kirsis Nina of Dorchester, MA.

Medical Resources caregivers say they intend to file federal charges against company executives for their strong-arm tactics during the organizing drive.