Your Voices Have Been Heard! Introduction of Direct Care Legislation Marks Historic Day for Workers

July 28, 2010, was a remarkable day for direct care workers across the country as Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) announced the introduction of the Direct Care Workforce Empowerment Act.

Rep. Sanchez has been a champion for direct care workers.  Last year, she led an effort along with DCA to call on the Department of Labor to fix the companionship exemption in the Fair Labor Standards Act. While we do applaud the Department of Labor for adding this issue to the 2010 regulatory agenda, a legislative change would solidify protections for home care workers in the law, not leaving this issue to the “whims of any one administration.”  As someone who has worked for less-than-minimum wage in my lifetime, I can say that this change is long overdue. Too many direct care workers struggle to support themselves and their families, working long hours doing backbreaking labor not because they have to, but because they love helping others. They are professionals and should have the same protections as all other workers in this country.

There have been many small victories over the years (see timeline), but the Direct Care Workforce Empowerment Act is one of the most significant breakthroughs for direct care workers in recent memory. It:

• Extends wage and overtime protections provided through the Fair Labor Standards Act to home care workers.
• Establishes data collection and reporting requirements to monitor important workforce indicators such as size, compensation levels, turnover rates and vacancies.
• Improves the recruitment and retention of direct care workers by providing grants to states to expand and support efforts aimed at recruiting, training and retaining an adequate supply of direct care workers.

The Kickoff

John Book & Leonila Vega at Press Conference

Yesterday, John Booker and I joined Rep. Sanchez at a press conference on Capitol Hill to discuss the problems facing this indispensable workforce and the struggle of these men and women to meet the growing demand for long-term care.  We expressed our support of this exciting new legislation and spoke to a room of press and allies about how the Direct Care Workforce Empowerment Act will benefit direct care workers.

I had the pleasure of introducing Rep. Sanchez to the crowd and she delivered a powerful statement about the need for minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers. Watch her remarks above.

I then introduced John Booker, who told about his long career as a certified nursing assistant. He said, “For three decades, I have worked hard to help ensure the autonomy and well-being of consumers in my care,” said John Booker, a direct care worker and founder of Association of Direct Care Workers of Color.  “But dozens of my colleagues haven’t been in the field as long – they love their jobs but have been forced to leave because they can’t make ends meet. This kind of high turnover is bad for consumers and their families. The Direct Care Workforce Empowerment Act will help improve working conditions and will make direct care a viable career option so that we can meet the growing demand for our services.” Watch John’s remarks below.

Our friends at the National Employment Law Project (NELP) have been incredible supporters of this bill, and I asked Judy Conti to join us on stage. She pledged NELP’s support of this legislation and called for this workforce – made up in large part of women and minorities – to be protected as they continue to serve the elderly and disabled. Watch Judy’s remarks below.

Gaining Momentum…already!

In addition to NELP, the following organizations have joined us in support of the bill: National Council on Aging, National Hispanic Council on Aging, AFSCME, SEIU, National Partnership for Women and Families, National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals, Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, and the Council on Social Work Education.  We thank these allies for joining us in the fight for change.

You – the workers and their allies – have finally made your voices heard in Washington, DC, and must continue to be active. Now more than ever, we must work together in support of basic labor protections and better quality of care for consumers. Your efforts to gain support by contacting your Representatives have been successful – nearly two dozen members of Congress have become original co-sponsors of the bill!

Let’s keep the pressure on. In the next few weeks, leading direct care workers from your states will be contacting many of you to schedule visits to your Representatives’ local offices.  If you can spare an hour to make a visit to your local office, please do. If you’re interested, there is no need to wait for us to call you – please send an email to Roy Gedat or Helen Hanson for more information.  You may also visit www.directcarealliance.org/empowerment to learn more and take action.

Read our press release and see what the leading Capitol Hill publication “The Hill” has to report about the Direct Care Alliance and the Direct Care Workforce Empowerment Act.  This is only the beginning – DCA pledges to continue pushing for regulatory and legislative reforms that will improve direct care worker jobs, strengthen the middle class, and help more than 13 million Americans relying on long-term care to lead healthy and independent lives.