Archive for ‘Advocacy’

Believe, Achieve, Succeed

Posted by on August 22nd, 2011 at 1:13 pm | 4 Comments »

Tracy Dudzinski

Being elected the chair of the board of directors for the Direct Care Alliance at our annual meeting this year was a great honor and an important step in a leadership journey I’ve been on for a few years. It’s also been an honor to work with my talented fellow board members, including several new Voices Institutes graduates who began serving their terms this year.

As many of you already know, I am the chair of the board of directors for a worker-owned home care cooperative I work for in Wisconsin. A few years ago, I became chair of the Wisconsin Direct Caregiver Alliance, and I am on the board of directors of the Wisconsin Long Term Care Workforce Alliance.

But being the chair of a powerful national organization like the DCA brings new opportunities and responsibilities. My fellow direct care worker board members and I are responsible for representing the voice of the workers. We make up the majority of the board members, and that is an excellent start, but it’s our responsibility to make sure that our voices are heard loud and clear–not just within the DCA but in wider discussions about the work we do. Over the next year, I plan to help the DCA become better recognized as the voice of direct care workers.
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DCA Weighs in on House Education and Workforce Committee FLSA Hearing

Posted by on July 18th, 2011 at 1:51 pm | No Comments »

July 14, 2011

Chairman Tim Walberg
Workforce Protections Subcommittee
House Education and Workforce Committee

Direct Care Alliance Statement on “The Fair Labor Standards Act: Is It Meeting the Needs of the Twenty-First Century Workplace?” Hearing

The DCA would like to take this opportunity to express our strong support for the proposed changes to the FLSA under the Direct Care Job Quality Improvement Act (H.R. 2341) introduced in the 112th Congress by Rep. Linda Sanchez.

Home care workers deserve the same basic wage and overtime protections that are enjoyed by almost all other workers in the United States.  They are not companions and should not be exempt from FLSA protections under the companionship exemption.  Home care is skilled work that requires a variety of duties, including transferring, bathing, grooming, toileting, feeding, household chores, and medical tasks such as catheter and ostomy care, injections and tube feeding.  FLSA was enacted to fight poverty, spread work and stimulate growth across our economy, however, given the irregular hours and low wages for workers in this industry – the median annual income is $17,000, with 45 percent of direct care workers living at or below 200% of the federal poverty line and 46 percent direct care workers depend on some form of public benefits.

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Care, Commitment and Coffee with Joan Leah and June Ortiz of Florida!

Posted by on July 18th, 2011 at 12:44 pm | No Comments »

At the 2011 Voices Institute Leadership Training, DCA communications director, Josh Sabato sat down to speak with direct care workers, Joan and June to discuss the most pressing issues facing direct care workers and how other activists can get involved in direct care advocacy in Florida.


DCA Honors Evelyn Coke’s Legacy by Fighting for the Future of Direct Care Workers

Posted by on July 12th, 2011 at 7:09 pm | No Comments »

Last Saturday, June 9th marked the two year anniversary of the death of Ms. Evelyn Coke, a leader in the fight for economic justice for America’s home care workers.  A home care worker herself for 20 years, who often worked 70 hours a week for less than $5.15 an hour, Ms. Coke took her case for unpaid overtime wages all the way to the Supreme Court in 2007.  Unfortunately for Ms. Coke, the court ruled that she was not entitled to any retroactive wages from her former employer.  Fortunately, she inspired a movement for the fair and ethical treatment of millions of direct care workers across the country.  In the spirit of that movement, since 2007 the DCA has led efforts to change the FLSA through legislation in Congress and by calling on the Dept. of Labor to extend minimum wage and overtime protections to home care workers.

Last year the DCA began efforts on Capitol Hill to pass the Direct Care Workforce Empowerment Act, a bill that would have finally extend minimum wage and overtime benefits to home care workers.  This year, the DCA is continuing that fight with the introduction and advocacy for the Direct Care Job Quality Improvement Act, sponsored by Rep. Linda Sanchez in the House and Sen. Robert P. Casey, Jr. in the Senate.  At a briefing hosted by the DCA on Capitol Hill to announce the legislation last month, Rep. Sanchez aptly stated, “They (direct care workers) care for our parents and grandparents, but we don’t guarantee home care workers the minimum wage. It is my hope that this bill corrects this injustice and helps improve the direction of direct care services.”  In the coming weeks and months, the DCA will continue to build support and advocate for the passage of this critical legislation.  We urge everyone who supports the vital role direct care workers play in our society to ask their representatives in Congress to co-sponsor this legislation today.

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Care, Commitment and Coffee with Muhanna S. Kakish of Minnesota

Posted by on July 12th, 2011 at 7:04 pm | No Comments »

At the 2011 Voices Institute Leadership Training, DCA communications director, Josh Sabato sat down to speak with direct care worker, Muhanna S. Kakish to discuss the most pressing issues facing direct care workers and how other activists can get involved in direct care advocacy in Minnesota.  DCA Speaks with Muhanna S. Kakish at 2011 Voices Institute Training.

Care, Commitment and Coffee with Elizabeth Cross of Arizona!

Posted by on July 5th, 2011 at 2:30 pm | No Comments »

At the 2011 Voices Institute Leadership Training, DCA communications director, Josh Sabato sat down to speak with direct care worker, Elizabeth Cross to discuss the most pressing issues facing direct care workers and how other activists can get involved in direct care advocacy in Arizona.  DCA Speaks with Elizabeth Cross at 2011 Voices Institute Training.

Direct Care Job Quality Improvement Act Introduced in the House and Senate!

Posted by on June 27th, 2011 at 5:30 pm | No Comments »

Last Friday, the Direct Care Job Quality Improvement Act was introduced in the U.S. House (HR 2341) and Senate (S. 1273) by Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) and Sen. Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA).  The bill was submitted with 22 original co-sponsors in the House and in the Senate, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, Tom Harkin also signed on as an original co-sponsor.

Rep. Sanchez released a statement on the importance and impact of the legislation stating “It is impossible to overstate the importance of direct care workers…They provide essential care and daily living services to more than 13 million elderly and disabled Americans.  They care for our parents and grandparents, but we don’t guarantee home care workers the minimum wage.  It is my hope that…” Read full release from Rep. Sanchez


DCA Hosts Capitol Hill Briefing, Renews Fight to Change the FLSA

Posted by on June 20th, 2011 at 4:46 pm | 4 Comments »

Last Thursday, the Direct Care Alliance hosted a legislative briefing on Capitol Hill, bringing together workers, providers, consumers and other direct care advocates in support of Direct Care Job Quality Improvement Act, a bill that would finally extend minimum wage and overtime protections to home care workers across the country.

The Direct Care Job Quality Improvement Act is set to be re-introduced (formerly the Direct Care Workforce Empowerment Act) by Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) in the House and Sen. Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA) in the Senate later this month.  Rep. Sanchez, an ardent supporter of direct care workers’ rights addressed the briefing attendees and spoke personally about her own father’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease and the indispensable role direct care workers play in his day-to-day life stating “If it weren’t for this workforce taking care of him it would be incredibly difficult for my family to manage it…  Read more about the legislative briefing. Continue reading »

DCA to Host Briefing on Capitol Hill this Thursday

Posted by on June 13th, 2011 at 2:50 pm | 3 Comments »

Leonila Vega

As we remember direct care icon Evelyn Coke following the fourth anniversary of her landmark Supreme Court decision, the DCA celebrates her legacy by continuing the fight for direct care workers and those they serve.  Once again the DCA is taking up the mantle of change, leading the fight to secure minimum wage and overtime protections, ensuring that workers get the respect and dignity they deserve.

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Care, Commitment and Coffee with Naomi Smith of Michigan!

Posted by on June 13th, 2011 at 2:50 pm | No Comments »

At the 2011 Voices Institute Leadership Training, DCA communications director, Josh Sabato sat down to speak with direct care worker, Naomi Smith to discuss the most pressing issues facing direct care workers and how other activists can get involved in direct care advocacy in Michigan.  DCA Speaks with Naomi Smith at 2011 Voices Institute Training.

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