In the past few weeks, I was invited on a TV talk show here in Maine (see video) to talk about the work I’ve been doing to make health care more affordable for direct care workers. I’ve attended and spoken at direct care worker conferences in Texas — both Houston and Killeen – and in Pennsylvania. I’ve helped organize and participated in more than 50 visits with House and Senate members in Washington DC by direct care workers and their allies. And I’ve met with new DCA partners in New Mexico.
Change is in the wind! To see what I mean, come along while I revisit the highlights of the last two or three months:
- On June 9, I was invited to join a panel on the Maine Center for Economic Policy’s State of the State TV show to talk about Maine’s Health Care for Direct Care Workers bill. State Senator Nancy Sullivan, who sponsored the bill, and State Insurance Superintendent Mila Kofman were also on the panel. You can hear some of what we said in the video at the top of this story. The bill was carried over for continued consideration by the 2010 legislature after a lot of hard work by Helen Hanson, Ted Rippy and others, which I helped out with. Maine is one of a handful of states that has been making progress in thinking through the challenge of how to provide better coverage to direct care workers.
- Hundreds of direct care workers in Houston, Texas, met in May to celebrate their profession, share their stories, and be recognized while forging a strong identity as a crucial and high-value workforce. I met some very impressive workers there, who I look forward to forging a connection with in the coming months.
- Just a few weeks later and a couple hours away in Killeen, the Texas Association of Nursing Assistants held its annual event, hosted by TANA founder and President Renee Tillman. Workers from many settings— including hospice, home care and nursing homes— participated in a program of education, recognition and celebration.
- The Pennsylvania Direct Care Workers Association also held its fifth annual conference in May. Spring into Action for a Better Tomorrow was planned exclusively by a dedicated group of association board members, all direct care workers, who volunteered their time to pull off this impressive event. The conference had a distinctive advocacy bent, issuing a call for action aimed at workers, employers and consumers across the state. The association’s worker-only board of directors, which also raised almost $10,000 to fund this well-attended event, has many reasons to be proud of what they accomplished
- The DCA’s April Capitol Hill visits resulted in over 50 US Representatives and Senators hearing from direct care workers, DCA board members, and DCA staff about why pay, benefits and training and education need to be improved for direct care professionals. The voice of workers was heard loud and clear on those broad goals and on the DCA’s number one advocacy priority: winning overtime and minimum wage protection for home care workers. That cause was advanced in May when many members of Congress, thanks in part to the urging of the DCA teams, signed a letter urging the new Secretary of Labor to fix the ruling that exempts home care workers from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
- New Mexico direct care workers are joining the newly formed New Mexico Direct Caregivers Coalition. This group’s initial priorities are getting workers good and affordable health care and developing a comprehensive credentialing system for the direct care profession. The association is currently hosting community meetings to listen, engage stakeholders, and build membership. It will be conducting its first official training event this fall.
The Direct Care Alliance is working in Texas, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and many other states to support direct care worker advocacy by assisting the groups that support workers. In my next blog post, I’ll give you an update on how that’s going.
Roy Gedat
National Advocacy Director
Direct Care Alliance
