Nearly 190,000 workers could win union representation with 1199SEIU to raise pay and improve care as demand for care skyrockets and Medicaid is under attack 

NEW YORK — Faced with rising costs and struggling to make ends meet, nearly 70,000 caregivers in New York’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP), most of whom care for relatives, filed for a union election today with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), seeking representation with 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. If the vote is successful, nearly 190,000 caregivers across the state would win representation in the largest union election in U.S. history. The caregivers would be united with 450,000 other healthcare workers in 1199SEIU (Service Employees International Union), giving them a strong voice to advocate for higher pay and improvements to care as demand for care skyrockets and Medicaid–which funds CDPAP–is under attack.

Under federal labor law, the NLRB must hold an election for union representation once 30% of workers in a bargaining unit sign union authorization cards, a benchmark surpassed by the caregivers who are organizing. 

“I love taking care of my mother, but love doesn’t pay the bills. Rent, groceries, and healthcare keep going up, while our wages aren’t keeping pace. Care is essential work, but the way we’re paid doesn’t treat it that way,” said CDPAP worker Angela Jimenez. “Caregivers like me shouldn’t have to struggle to survive. I’m joining with caregivers across New York because together, we have the power to demand what this work is worth, and make sure we can afford to keep doing it.”

According to a survey conducted by 1199SEIU of over 31,000 of the CDPAP workers who signed union cards, nearly 64 percent reported they were just getting by or finding it difficult to get by financially over the past year, 62 percent said the hardest part of being a caregiver was not getting paid enough to make ends meet, and 66 percent said the most important thing in a union contract for them was higher pay. 

America is in the midst of a caregiving crisis as an estimated 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day in the United States until 2030 and millions more families will need support to help their loved ones live safely and independently at home. For generations, that work has been provided disproportionately by women and family members, largely out of public view, whose labor has too often been treated as less than real work. New projections from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)estimate that America will need nearly 850,000 more home care workers by 2035 as the aging population explodes in size, more new jobs than any other occupation in the United States. Now, across every corner of New York, CDPAP caregivers who enable parents, grandparents, siblings, children, friends and neighbors with disabilities to live safely and independently in their own homes are coming together to assert that their work has value. 

“These are essential workers doing work families cannot live without, yet they are struggling to put food on their own tables. They are watching the cost of groceries, rent, gas, and healthcare climb while their pay falls behind,” said Yvonne Armstrong, President of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. “Someone who is a lifeline for another person should not have to choose which bill goes unpaid, or question whether they can afford to keep doing this work. Programs like CDPAP cannot be a sustainable answer to our care crisis if the workers providing that care cannot sustain themselves. Caregivers are organizing because they are ready to change that. They are ready to fight for the wages, benefits, and economic security they deserve, and they are demanding a voice in shaping the future of care work. What they are building in New York can set a new standard for how we view care and the people who provide it across this country.”

Rather than organizing on a factory floor or in a break room, these caregivers are building a collective voice across thousands of homes. They are organizing for wages and benefits that will enable caregiving to be a sustainable option for families -- and, amid significant federal cuts to Medicaid enacted by Republicans in Washington, to strengthen and protect the program they and their loved ones depend on.

“It’s a joy to be able to take care of my brother who has muscular dystrophy, and CDPAP allows me to care for him at home while earning income. My biggest fear is what happens to him if that care is taken away. I can’t afford to provide this care for free, and without CDPAP, my family would be left with no options” said CDPAP worker Andrea Morgan. “With Medicaid and programs like CDPAP under attack, we need a real voice in the decisions that affect the people we care for. As caregivers, we know firsthand what’s at stake, and together we can fight to protect this program and make sure it’s there for every family that needs it.”

CDPAP gives older adults and people with disabilities who qualify for Medicaid and need assistance at home the ability to choose, train and direct their own caregivers. Often, those chosen caregivers are family members, friends or neighbors. CDPAP caregivers help people get out of bed or transfer from a wheelchair, bathe, toilet and dress. They prepare meals, manage medications, and provide transportation to appointments. Some are trained to use complex medical equipment. For many consumers and families, this care is all that stands between continuing to live at home and needing to enter an institutional setting like a nursing home. 

“Every day, CDPAP workers provide care that makes it possible for New Yorkers to live safely and independently in their own homes,” said Senator James Skoufis. “Their work is invaluable, and they deserve a meaningful voice in the decisions that shape their work and the care consumers receive. I’m honored to stand with these workers as they organize, build power together and fight for a stronger future for themselves and the New Yorkers they care for.”

“New York’s CDPAP is a vital lifeline for so many families across the state and provides vulnerable New Yorkers with access to the healthcare resources and assistance they need right from home,” said New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. “With unprecedented federal challenges and as the cost of living continues to skyrocket across the country, it is vital that home care workers have a voice to support and protect these critical services. As Assembly speaker, I will always stand with our caregivers to help ensure they have the resources they need to continue providing high quality, affordable care to all New Yorkers.”

Medicaid is the lifeblood of CDPAP, providing the funding that allows consumers to receive care at home and workers to provide that care. That foundation is now under extraordinary pressure. As America’s caregiving crisis grows, disastrous federal Medicaid cuts enacted by Republicans in Washington–nearly $1 trillion–directly threaten the healthcare and services millions of Americans rely on, including CDPAP. For families, the consequences could be devastating. People’s health declines, hospitalizations increase, our loved ones are pushed into care facilities away from home, and they lose their independence and connection to their communities. 

“Caregiving is physically demanding, emotionally exhausting and deeply skilled work. This work doesn’t become free because you do it for someone you love,”said April Verrett, President of the Service Employees International Union. “These workers are organizing to save their families and their jobs, and to protect the people who depend on their care. They are organizing for better wages, healthcare, paid sick leave, and respect -- but they are also organizing for something even more fundamental: whether America recognizes care as work worthy of dignity, respect and economic security.”

“This is about the future of our economy and how we are going to care for ourselves and the people we love,” said Ai-jen Poo, president of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, in a video to CDPAP workers. “You are the solution, and you having access to the care and the wages and the benefits that you deserve is what's going to make that solution real for all of us.”

As the population ages, millions more families will confront the same questions: Who will care for the people they love, and can their families afford to provide that care? 

“My daughters help me get out of bed in the morning, help me get dressed and brush my hair, and help me cook meals from our culture that I enjoy eating. But what they really give me is the chance to live my life. Because of my daughters, I can see the people I love, be part of my community, and experience the world around me,” said Dominique Larouche, 68 years old. “That kind of independence means everything to me. They are people I trust with my life, and I want them to have the pay, respect, and the voice that they deserve. I support caregivers organizing because their future and mine are tied together.”

“Caregiving is one of the most important jobs in our economy. This is deeply human work that cannot be automated away,” said Liz Shuler, President of the AFL-CIO. “Caregivers make it possible for older adults and people with disabilities to live with dignity and independence, yet too often the people doing this essential work have little say in the decisions that shape their jobs and their futures. Caregivers have a fundamental right to organize. They deserve the same thing every worker deserves: a collective voice and the power to fight for a better future for themselves, their families, and the people who depend on them.”

The scale of the organizing drive is something the country hasn’t seen in decades. The 70,000 workers who have signed cards to trigger the NLRB election is an unprecedented show of support for union representation. The closest historical parallels are the mass organizing drives that took place in America’s auto industry, the largest being approximately 137,000 workers at General Motors who voted to form their union in 1940, and approximately 80,000 workers at Ford who followed suit in 1941. The largest election in modern U.S. history was in 1999, when approximately 74,000 Los Angeles County home care workers voted to form their union with SEIU. 

“The 190,000 caregivers who will vote in this union election are doing vital labor that helps fill the gaping holes in our country’s care infrastructure, yet their labor is so often taken for granted and devalued,” said Zoë West, PhD, senior extension faculty at the Worker Institute at Cornell University. “The historic scale of this union election makes home care workers’ central role in our economy and society unmistakable—the tens of thousands of caregivers who filed for a union election today are demanding that New York take seriously the essential work they do, and recognize its value with good wages and a voice at work through a union.”

"This is a great day for 1199 and the entire union movement in New York State. Today’s announcement will strengthen the voice of working people as we continue to stand together against Washington's efforts to silence us,” said Mario Cilento, New York State AFL-CIO President. “I want to congratulate and thank President Yvonne Armstrong for her outstanding leadership, dedication and commitment to providing a voice for the voiceless. Under her leadership, 1199 is setting a standard for the union movement throughout this country in organizing new members and keeping us Union Strong. This is an important moment for 1199 and for the future of organized labor."