State’s homecare workers are first in the nation to win $15 per hour wage.

Massachusetts has made history. Again. The state that sparked the American Revolution, and more recently, paved the way for The Affordable Care Act and Marriage Equality was in June the site of another big win for the people. On June 26, some 35,000 Massachusetts Personal Care Attemdamts (PCAs) chalked up a major victory in the Fight For $15 campaign and became the nation’s first homecare workers to win a starting wage of $15 an hour.

“This was such a great victory. We really need this,” says Lizete Rosa, a Fall River, MA PCA who cares for her grandson, Evan. “Since 1199 has been working with PCAs it has been a victory for us, but as the grandmother of a consumer I want to make sure that he has good people working with him who are getting paid a good wage. And it’s not just for my family; it’s for everyone. This is hard work.”

The agreement was reached after months of contract negotiations with Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker. The contract extends terms of the current collective bargaining agreement and establishes a commitment that all Massachusetts PCAs will receive a starting rate of $15 per hour by July 2018. Under the terms of the extension, workers will receive a 30-cent raise on July 1, 2015. Other terms include a commitment to negotiate scheduled wage increases to meet the new minimum and funding of the Homecare Training Benefit, which includes CNA and CPR training and certification, bloodborne pathogen education and certification, college tuition vouchers and paid orientation. At press time, PCAs were conducting a ratification vote.

" We showed the rest of the country that we all have a voice."

Massachusetts PCAs organized with 1199SEIU in 2006, when they were making $10.84 an hour. Their initial organizing campaign, which was supported by senior and disability advocates, was a watershed moment for solidarity, community organizing and homecare workers’ strength.

“This moment took a lot of strength and work. It took a lot to get to this point and we were working towards this even before we officially joined the union,” says Rosa. “This took the strength of all the PCAs in the state. And now we have to keep going. We can’t say we’re too busy to get involved with the Union. We need to stay involved, especially in politics and with politicians. They need us as much as we need them.”

At a June 29 victory celebration on the Massachusetts Statehouse steps, numerous elected officials, community supporters and family and friends joined workers. Bunches of balloons swayed in the summer breeze. And little ones enjoyed cones of cotton candy.

Betzaida Santana, a PCA from Lakeville, brought her four-year-old daughter, Miley Rodriguez.

“This really means a lot. It’s more pay. I work 24 hours a week, so I don’t make that much money. It’s a bit of a struggle, so it’ll be nice to have that extra,” she says.

“The price of everything is going up, we have no rent control in this state. and college is so expensive. How are people expected to afford things? I worry every day,” says Richardson Charles, a PCA from Brockton and a father of six. “This is something good.”

PCA Tammy Hall has been an activist from the earliest days of the organizing effort. She’s ecstatic about the win, but more importantly, she says, Massachusetts PCAs have to support other homecare workers fighting for better wages, like those in New York.

“I’m telling our sisters and brothers don’t ever give up because we are here for you. There are a bunch of people up in Massachusetts that are here to support you,” she says. “We showed the rest of the country that we all have a voice. It starts here, now we can get something done when we all go out and knock on doors, get on the phones and get out on the streets.”