JUSTICE FOR HOME CARE WORKERS

Work 24 hours; Paid for 13

Right here in New York, home care workers, many of whom are immigrant women of color, are forced to work 24-hour days. They are expected work and take care of patients around the clock. That means, they earn $7.50/hr, less than the state’s minimum wage.

We are fighting back.

 
Photo by Katie Orlinsky for The New York Times

On August 12, 2020, dozens of home attendants—most of whom were current or former members of 1199SEIU—held a press conference in front of 1199SEIU’s office to demand that the union stop its collusion with home care agencies and insurance companies to maintain the racist, sexist, and unjust 24-hour workday. They were joined by other workers and supporters of the Ain't I a Woman?! Campaign.

For years, workers have asked 1199SEIU President George Gresham to stand with them against the abusive practice of a 24-hour workday, especially as they are paid for only 13 of those hours. No response. In the face of mounting pressure, the union president finally released a statement at the press conference last week: “We wholeheartedly believe that all workers deserve to be fairly compensated for the hours they work. We also understand that in order for 24-hour workers to be compensated as they should, the State of New York must allocate roughly one billion dollars in Medicaid funding.” To summarize: There's nothing wrong with 24-hour shifts. Workers should be paid, but there’s no money. Our hands are tied. 

Why is the union turning its back on its members? Is it because they are women of color and immigrants? Is it because these women are caring for vulnerable, low-income, elderly, ill and disabled individuals who need around-the-clock care? 

Why, a century and a half since the U.S. labor movement fought for the 8-hour day, is 1199--widely considered the most powerful and "progressive" union in this country--dragging us backwards to a 24-hour workday? This is heartbreaking. Not only is the union's practice undermining the rights and lives of its membership, but it is an assault on the labor movement as a whole. 1199 is setting a dangerous and harmful precedent by on the one hand claiming to speak for workers, and on the other, saying it’s okay for your employer to make you work every single hour of your day, and that it’s okay to not get paid for all the hours. How will other unions see this? Will train conductors, teachers, nurses be expected now to work longer hours? By normalizing the super-exploitation of home care workers with a 24-hour day, 1199 is sending the message that workers should work dangerously long hours, even if they join or organize unions. 

Home care workers are rising up and rallying to end the 24-hour workday. Those who care about 1199, about their own union, and about the future of the labor movement, whether you are in New York, other parts of the US or around the world, don’t let this shameful and destructive pace setting from the 1199SEIU leadership hurt all of us. Write or call 1199SEIU President George Gresham, and tell him to end the 24-hour work shifts and replace it with split shifts. 

A Letter from Home Attendants to 1199SEIU President George Gresham.

August 21, 2020

RE: Demand to Proceed to Arbitration

Dear George Gresham, 

I am a home attendant and union member for 20 years. I am writing again on behalf of myself and my co-workers who filed a grievance against the employer, Chinese-American Planning Council, for a violation of our collective bargaining agreement and the law in that it has failed to properly pay me and my co-workers for wages that we rightfully earned. 

I made a similar request in writing back in December 2018. In response, I received a letter from Rona Shapiro, dated January 7, 2019, stating that if I and other workers wanted to arbitrate our grievance that we did not get sufficient sleep and meal breaks, the union would arbitrate those claims immediately. We said we wanted to arbitrate. A couple of months after during a meeting in April 2019, my co-workers and I again demanded you arbitrate our grievances immediately. I specifically said at that meeting, that those of us here at the meeting did not get sufficient sleep and meal breaks and so you should arbitrate our claims immediately and not lump us in with everyone else. A couple weeks after the meeting, I called Mr. Chen the union rep to reiterate our demand and ask the union to proceed with arbitration for us who filed the grievance.

It has now been a year and a half since that meeting and we have not heard from you and you have still not arbitrated our claims. 

It has now been more than 4 years since we have filed complaints. It is wrong for the union to lie to us and ignore our demands. It is wrong to continuously force others to work 24-hour shifts while allowing the employers to steal our wages with no recourse for the workers.

If you do not set the date for the arbitration within two weeks of this letter, I will assume that you are refusing to proceed with my grievance to arbitration. 

Sincerely, 

Lai Yee Chan on behalf of Anna Zhang, You Li, Kang Lu, Mei He Chen, Hui Ling Chen, Zhu Qin Chen, Cui Zhong Liang Wu, Xiao Wen Zhen, Xue Rou Xie, Xiao Huan Yu, Yue Li, Ah Lin Lok, Wan Wen Liang

 

Home attendants are essential healthcare workers!

Home attendants are essential healthcare workers, but they do not receive any of the protections nurses or doctors are given. Through a small, grassroots effort, we have been able to provide protective equipment to nearly 300 home care workers after the agencies they work for claimed providing PPE was impossible. The grassroots relief effort was made possible by donations from home care workers and supporters. Assembly member Niou and candidate for City Council District 1, Christopher Marte, also supported the relief efforts by donating masks. 

Governor Cuomo and home care agencies have long ignored the wellbeing of home attendants and patients. With the support of Assembly member Epstein and Senator Persaud, we have demanded the end of the 24-hour work day that Governor Cuomo had implemented and defended. 

Home care agencies have thousands of employees and make millions of dollars on the backs of their workers and patients. How can they say they are not able to provide PPE for their workers, when a small organization like ours was able to? Home care workers are essential but their lives are not expendable. They care for their patients and do not want to put them at risk. 

Our  distribution of masks lays bare the shamelessness of home care agencies that claim they cannot procure protective equipment for workers and even direct the home attendants to get masks from our workers centers. We are a small organization with few staff and resources. Are they trying to save money for the insurance companies and the government at the expense of the lives of home care workers and the patients?

This must stop. Governor Cuomo must take responsibility to order all home care agencies and the insurance companies to right their wrong: 

  • Provide sufficient protective gears such as masks, gloves, gowns, hand sanitizers, disinfectant sprays, hand soaps

  • Arrange car service paid by the agencies for home attendants to travel to and from work, until the government improves the subway service and other public transportation attainable for social distancing

  • Recognize home attendants as health care workers, and offer in-home testing for home attendants and their patients 

  • Protect the health of the home attendants and patients by requiring patients’ families to comply with Matilda's law; if there is non-compliance, home attendants who quit with a health concern should receive Unemployment Insurance

  • Stop 24-hour workdays immediately; if the home attendants agree to stay for 24-hour shifts due to safety concerns over the pandemic, the home attendants should be paid 24 hours of wages, including overtime wages


Dear supporter,

We hope everyone and their families are well in the face of COVID-19. While this pandemic puts all of us at risk, home care workers are jeopardizing their health as frontline healthcare providers caring for the elderly or people who are ill or disabled. Home care workers are told by the agencies that employ them "to take precautions" in light of COVID-19. However, the workers are not provided protective equipment. No gloves. No masks. No disinfectants. No uniforms. This lack of protection endangers the health of both the home care workers and the people they care for. 

To make matters worse, home care workers are being asked to work more 24-hour shifts because some patients' families want fewer home care workers coming in or to fill in for other workers who cannot work. Having one home came care worker around the clock was already detrimental to the health and well-being of both the worker and patient before COVID-19, as the worker is expected to be attentive to the needs of the patient all day and all night. Now, stressful 24-hour shifts are made harder, and it is nearly impossible to take proper precautions to prevent transmission of COVID-19.

"The state is in lockdown, but we still need to fight on the frontline. We need to protect ourselves and the patients. The governor mentions many industries but leaves out home care. Our work cannot be stopped. What protection can we get? What action is the governor taking?” ~ Guihua Song, First Chinese Presbyterian home care worker

No special instructions or provisions have been provided to home care workers in the case their patient becomes ill. "Call 911," they're told. Meanwhile, these workers continue to take care of their patients' every need: changing their diapers, turning them over in bed, assisting them to the bathroom, bathing them, dressing them, feeding them, taking them to medical appointments.

The workers worry about COVID-19, but they must work to pay the rent, and they feel responsible for their patients. They worry about the patient and their own health as patients’ family members come and go, having taken the subway or bus. Self-quarantining is impractical as they have to continue to care for their patients. They also worry about how they would be tested or treated, given limited health insurance.

We are calling on the local and Federal governments to step up and support the health and economic needs of workers, like these home care workers-regardless of immigration status. For starters, protective equipment and protocols must be provided to safeguard the health of home care workers and the people they care for. Testing and treatment must be accessible. In addition, in the face of COVID-19-- and beyond-- to protect the health of workers and to enable them to provide proper care to their patients, 24-hour shifts must end. Around-the-clock care must be divided into two shifts of 12 hours.

Most home care workers will be excluded from the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the FMLA expansion Act. The arbitrary carve out for businesses with over 500 employees means those working for large agencies will not be protected and smaller agencies can exclude home care workers as health care providers. This means home care workers cannot stop working to care for their own health, their family members' health or to care for their children who are home from school. If home care workers need to stop working, they are not eligible for unemployment. If they are told by patients to stop coming, instead of applying for unemployment, workers are being told to wait in line for a new patient.

"I was going to retire, but I needed to keep working to pay the rent and help my family. I'm worried now with coronavirus. They don't give us masks, gloves--nothing. My patient's 89 years old. The government should help us workers and our patients.” ~ Maria Gotay

We are working to procure protective equipment for home care workers to meet immediate needs, as we advocate for the government to take responsibility. Join us in these efforts. Please donate so home care workers can receive the necessary tools to protect their health. Donations can be made by clicking on Donate button below.

Contact us for more information, or support us with a donation!

What else can you do?

Sign and spread the call for disaster relief funds for workers who lose their jobs or need to take time to take care of their own health or a family member; establish more medical facilities and ensure protective equipment for healthcare workers.

Sign and spread the call to Governor Cuomo to end the 24-hour workday for home care workers, and implement split shifts of 12 hours.

 
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Pay the Workers Now & No More 24h Workdays!

The first in a series of protests against home care agencies that refuse to pay workers back pay and enforce 24-hour shifts for only 13-hours pay. 60 workers delivered a letter to First Chinese Presbyterian Home Care.

Ms. Jocelyn Lee
Executive Director
First Chinese Presbyterian Community Affairs Home Attendants Corp.
30 Broad Street
New York, NY 1004

December 11, 2019

Dear Ms. Lee

We are home care workers who have worked 24-hour shifts for years for your agency. We have been fighting for our back pay now for four years, and to end these 24-hour shifts. We care for elderly, disabled and ill people who need around-the-clock care in their homes. We have testified to the damage working days on end without proper rest has had on our health and family life. Despite knowing this, you collude with insurance companies to continue the 24-hour workdays. We demand you right your wrong by paying us the stolen wages and overtime you owe us and to stop the 24-hour shifts immediately.

If you want to resolve this case with the sixty of us, then contact our representatives, Leticia Panama Rivas and Alvaro Guzman, at (212) 358-0295.

Leticia Panama Rivas
Elida A. Mejia Herrera
Alvaro Guzman
Seferina Acosta
Rafaela Cruceta
Virtudes Duran
Elvia Fernandez
Jose Guzman
Rafaela Urena
Gail Yan
Wai Kam Lou
Heng Qi Ma
Yue Ming Wu
Yan Yi Wu
Xiu Hua Li
Catalina Bernardez

Reina Caba
Maria Campos
Azucena Deras
Luz Gonzalez
Socorro Toribio
Sileni Martinez
Eduvigis Payero
Milagro Liriano Rosario
Yi Sheung Lam
Ming Xin Chen
Yuen Ngan Chan
Su Fang Tan
Cai Xi Huang
Neng Jin Zheng
Xue Ping Zhang
Xiu Chan Chen

Mu Jun Chen
Ping Su Liao
Guo Yan Chen
Yan Ming Li
Jin Man Zhu
Fo Rong Huang
Fo Lian Huang
Pui Ching Lui
Yue Luo
Tan Lai
Suo Zhen Tang
Yue Qian Chen
Xiao LianZhang
Zhang Di Huang
Gui Hua SongYue Chang Chen

 

Qian Zeng
Feng Xin Wu
Su Qiong Chen
Jin Yao Deng
Yim Ping Chan
Xiao Hui Bu
Cui Lan Li
Lian Mei Feng
Siu Chun Chan
Yan Zhen Huang
Li Yun He
Feng Ming Li
Yan Zhen Liu
Huo Lian Liang
Maria Gotay

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Tell Governor Cuomo to stop this shameful practice

We are asking all organizations from around the world to help spread the word about the 24-hour workday in New York State and urge Governor Cuomo and the New York State Department of Labor to put an immediate end to this practice.

Home care workers are a majority woman and immigrant work force. These workers provide lifesaving care to those who need around-the-clock care, including the elderly and those others who suffer from severe medical conditions such as Alzheimer’s or dementia. For those who are bed-ridden, and endure a multitude of health problems, home care workers provide care through meal assistance, personal hygiene as well as domestic labor such as laundry and cleaning. They watch them at night so they don’t wander off, or fall while going to the bathroom. They turn them over in bed to prevent bedsores. For doing this critical work in our society, many of these women have become injured themselves and some are permanently disabled. They have lost years with their own families.

For too long, thousands in NYS have had to make the choice between working a 24-hour shift or no shift at all. We need your help to demand that the Governor act now to stop this shameful practice. We ask that you write a letter or tweet at Governor Cuomo and the New York State Department fo Labor (@NYGovCuomo and @NYSLabor) demanding the #Endthe24hourworkday

 
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Read Lai Yee’s Story

Lai Yee Chan, a home attendant for Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), helped her patients day and night for over 15 years. During the day, she bathed and fed her patients. At night, she helped them get out of bed and go to the bathroom or get a drink of water. She could not leave her patient for even a second of her 24-hour shift. One day her daughter was locked out of her house, but Lai Yee was not allowed to go downstairs to give her daughter the key. Adding insult to injury, Lai Yee has not seen a pay increase in 8 years, is not paid for the 12 hours of work at night, except for a small fee, and is never paid overtime. Ultimately, workers like Lai Yee are paid about $5/hour, way less than the minimum wage.

 
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CPC Home Care Workers’ Timeline of Events