NEW YORK CITY
Victory for home health aides
By G. Dunkel
New York City
Nearly 3,000 home health care workers, some of the
lowest-paid workers in New York City, won a contract Sept. 19
after their union threatened a three-day citywide strike.
The workers had chosen 1199/SEIU as their union two years
ago. But the boss of Premier Home Health Services Inc. stalled
on giving them a contract. He preferred paying his workers an
average $6.50 an hour, though many only made $5.35--just 20
cents over the legal minimum wage. Then he turned around and
got reimbursed $11 an hour for their services by New York
state.
After unionists at 1199 realized Premier wasn't serious
about a contract, they put hundreds of organizers into the
struggle, contacting their workers, who are scattered in small
groups all over the city, to prepare for a strike.
Premier was obviously counting on a drum-roll of media
coverage focusing on how the workers were abandoning their
clients.
Since even Premier's boss admitted that "his" workers were
paid $3 to $4 an hour under the prevailing national wage for
this kind of work, the union was able to turn the media focus
to the difficulties single mothers had in raising a family on
less than $250 a week take-home pay. Most of Premier's workers
are women of color raising families.
Workers will get a 20-percent increase in wages and benefits
over the 15 months of the contract. It grants a base pay of
$6.55 per hour, paid health insurance, paid holidays, overtime
and sick days. These are all new benefits won with this
contract.
1199 announced its intention to organize another 8,000 home
health care workers who do not have a union contract.
Reprinted from the Oct. 10, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyrighted
under a Creative
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