Mike Harrison
My name is Mike Harrison. I am a displaced factory worker who has found refuge in the direct care workforce.
I do what is called “in-home care” for a single quadriplegic client in his residence. It took me over two years to get the seniority to schedule myself for 40 hours a week. That leaves me 8 hours’ leeway to do emergency fill-in without accruing overtime, which my agency will pay but highly discourages. I am very fortunate to get this benefit, which I will expound on later.
In my job as a DSP (direct support professional), I cook, clean, shop, wet nurse, bathe, and take care of his dog. Basically, I fill in the gaps his spinal muscular condition creates. It’s a pleasure and a privilege to support my client, who is one of the smartest, most driven people I know. I strive to support his independent living and provide some dignity to an otherwise difficult situation.
There are many problems in the direct care world that I am immune to. My wife’s health care benefits from her job are superior and less expensive then the plan offered by agency. Without that option, I’d have to take the less desirable plan or seek another job that offers a better benefit package. Many of my colleagues across the country have no health plan offered, leaving them sick from not seeking treatment to running the risk of financial ruin by paying for pricey medical treatment. Fifty percent of the bankruptcies in this country are caused by medical bills.
I get paid 25% more than the national average for direct care workers, but my wages are still low. That’s less of a problem for me than for some, though. My wife grew up in a loving but humble home, so she does not require me to provide her with a lavish home or a fancy car, and she has a job of her own. Our combined incomes allow us to live a modest but comfortable lifestyle in an inner-city suburb. I could cover my mortgage payment with one week of my factory pay, but it takes two and a half weeks of direct care work to make the same payment. I’m also lucky that my children are raised and have homes of their own. Imagine trying to maintain a home and raise a family on these wages — or worse, an average or below-average direct care wage.
I’m also fortunate because the state law in my state requires that I receive overtime pay. A lot of home care workers live in states that don’t require that they get overtime pay or even the minimum wage. And if your state doesn’t mandate that, you’re out of luck, since home care workers are exempt from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. This is ridiculous and insulting, considering the vital, important role we play in the lives of our clients with our work.
Evelyn Coke, a direct care worker who put in 70 hours a week for 20 years at $7 an hour to raise 5 kids, took her employer to court for back wages in the form of overtime when she fell sick. Her case went all the way to the Supreme Court, but the court let this injustice stand.
A lot of direct care workers are forced to leave this profession because of these conditions. This situation is grave. We will need about a million more direct care workers in the next decade, thanks to our rapidly aging baby boomer generation. How are we going to recruit that many new workers when wages and benefits are so poor?
I call on my fellow workers, employers, and consumer representatives to lobby our elected officials with one voice. And I ask our elected officials: Please look into your hearts and find a way to help us right this wrong.
We give our best for our clients. Please compensate us fairly in return.
Mike Harrison
Voices Institute NLP Class of 2009
Great article Mike!