Stand Up and Be Heard: My Meeting with the U.S. Department of Labor

Tracy Dudzinski

Before this year I’d never been to Washington, D.C., but my work with the DCA has brought me there a lot. My latest visit was on July 24, when I met with staff from the Department of Labor (DOL) about the rule that excludes home care workers from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). I went with Leonila Vega, the DCA’s executive director, and Vera Salter, the chair of our board of directors.

It was a real learning experience for me. Once again, as often happens in my work with the DCA, I was reminded of how important it is for direct care workers to stand up and tell their stories.

In my hotel room the night before, I read and re-read the information Leonila had given me to share with the DOL staff. I wanted to be prepared, so I would represent my profession and my fellow direct care workers well.

In the morning, we met with our contact from the Raben Group, a firm in Washington that helps groups like the DCA hone their advocacy messages. I learned that this kind of meeting always follows a certain order. We went over our talking points and agreed that Leonila would go first, giving a brief description and history of the DCA, and then I would explain why it is important for home care workers to be protected by FLSA. Vera was to go last, giving them some statistics.

We practiced several times and talked about how best to answer the questions we were likely to get. Then it was time to jump in a cab.

When we arrived at the building, someone from the Secretary of Labor’s staff was there to meet us. We went through security and were escorted to the meeting room, where we were joined by other staff members.

After Leonila spoke, I explained that I am a home care worker and a member of DCA’s board, and that I co-chair the board’s advocacy committee. I went on to say that we home care workers do important work, though the ruling that keeps us from getting FLSA minimum wage and overtime protection says we provide “companionship services.”

Back in 1975, when that ruling was still passed, I said, we may have been mostly just companions. But since then the scope of the care that we provide has changed, and it’s much more than companionship now. I talked about elders living longer and requiring more complex care.

I also said we should be respected for the work that we do and treated like the professionals that we are. All other service workers, like teachers, policemen, and firemen, are protected under FLSA. We provide an important service by caring for our elderly and people with disabilities, and we deserve FLSA protection too. The staff were very interested in what I had to say.

After I talked, Vera spoke about the shortage of workers that is only going to get worse as baby boomers enter the system.

The DOL staff then explained why this can’t be a quick fix. They told us we were the first group that they had met with about this issue. We offered to help in any way we could as they did further research and decided what to do.

Talking to the people who have power to change our jobs, telling them what we want and why, is not enough to change things overnight, but it’s an important part of the process. The good news is, a lot of people in Washington want to hear what people like us have to say.

It may take a while to get what we need. But if we have the courage to speak up, I know we’ll be heard.

Tracy Dudzinski
Board member
Direct Care Alliance