Childcare providers fight for union rights

On June 22, Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri vetoed the Family Childcare Pro viders Business Opportunity Act of 2005. The act would have allowed the state’s 1,300 licensed and hundreds of other unlicensed home-based day-care providers, members of the union Service Employees 1199, to bargain collectively with the state for wages and benefits.

As wages fall behind inflation for most workers, and welfare payments are eliminated, home-based day-care workers have become essential for working parents in Rhode Island. While the state subsidizes day-care fees for 13,000 parents, these subsidies are being cut to pay for tax cuts for the richest Rhode Islanders.

Day-care workers are poorly compensated for their central role in the state’s economy. The Day Care Justice Co-Op, an organization of day-care workers that preceded the union drive, found that after deducting the cost of children’s toys, books, food, safety equipment and sometimes assistants, the day-care workers, mostly Black and Latina women, ended up with a wage of only $2.76 per hour.

The workers have organized to demand justice for themselves and the children they care for. They signed union cards. In May 2004 they marched through the streets of Providence and held rallies at the state legislature.

Grace Diaz, a home day-care provider and member of Service Employees 1199, was elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives as a Democrat with support from her union.

They have stood up to the viciously anti-union and sexist Providence Journal, speaking out in letters to the editor and opinion columns. The Journal ran an anti-union editorial on June 11 headlined “Spank the Babysitters Union.” And the newspaper is campaigning to uphold the governor’s veto.

The day-care workers have shown that even the most oppressed workers can organ ize, on the job and politically. But their struggle has not yet overcome the anti-union Democrats and Republicans who control the state’s political forums.

At first the day-care providers’ goal was to be declared state employees, thus able to collectively bargain with the state under existing law. Since the state regulates their hours, issues certifications, and sets work rules for the home day-care providers, this was more than reasonable. But against opposi tion from the Democratic-led state legislature and the governor, the union decided to back the “Business Opportunity Act.”

That left the day-care workers with the misleading title of “independent contractors,” but allowed the union to bargain on their behalf.

In backing the bill the union, which has marketed its campaign as “kids come first,” gave up the right to strike or take any kind of job action. This concession will weaken the child-care workers at the bargaining table. The union has stressed that the legislation will keep parents off welfare and will not create any state employees.

Even with this concession, the Demo crat-controlled state legislature barely mustered enough votes to override Car cieri’s veto. The bill passed 23 to 13 in the Senate, and 41 to 27 in the House. In the House, 11 Democrats voted against the bill. In the Senate, eight Democrats voted against the bill.

Child-care workers are hoping that no more will waver, because a three-fifths majority vote is needed to override the governor’s veto.

Even if the veto is overridden in the state legislature, the child-care workers face a long struggle for decent wages and benefits. They deserve the support of the entire state AFL-CIO, which should refuse to adapt itself to the right wing, anti-union demonization of state employees and welfare recipients. Solidarity, not preemptive compromise, will be the key to victory.

And if day-care workers have the determination and ability to get elected to state office, why not build a party that doesn’t hesitate to fight for the rights of workers and their unions? Workers and oppressed people need a party of their own, one that won’t take away the right to strike while recognizing the right to bargain.

Victory to the child-care workers!

Alex Gould is a member of Food and Commercial Workers Local 328.