Riverside:

Riverside UDW Members Protest IHSS Cuts in Front of State Building

Published; The California Report
January 31, 2012 • Bobbi Albano

San Bernardino In-Home Health Care Workers Fired Up

“They are always implementing cuts [and] their target is always the most vulnerable,” says Ramiro Cordoba, regarding the Governor’s proposed cuts to health and human services. These cuts could be devastating for in-home health care workers like Cordoba who make between $8 and $11.50 per hour. “If the hours are cut for the client, then there are cuts in our pay.” Cordoba is an organizer for the UDW Homecare Providers Union in Riverside.

On January 10, members of the UDW protested against these cuts in front of the State building in downtown San Bernardino. “We were out there to find ways to have more revenue,” Cordoba continued. Read the rest of this entry »

Riverside UDW Members & Activists Rally Against Trigger Cuts to State Budget

Brown administration announces midyear cuts
Press Enterprise

“…Charisse Jackson, 50, of Moreno Valley, speaking over the horn blasts of passing motorists, was among the 80 or so people who gathered on the southwest corner of Magnolia Avenue and 14th Street in Riverside on Tuesday night to demonstrate their disfavor with the impending cuts. Jackson said she was there because she expects the cuts to impact the care her adult developmentally disabled daughter receives.

‘The proposed cuts put them (the developmentally disabled) in imminent harm,’ she said, adding that many of them may have to be institutionalized, which will cost the state more than if it provided the present level of services…” Read More

Riverside; UDW Townhall in Coachella Covered in The Desert Sun

Cuts to homecare examined

Blake Herzog, The Desert Sun Saturday December 10, 2011

Coachella — A town hall forum was held Friday here for patients and caregivers facing deep cuts to a state program that helps low-income seniors and disabled residents remain in their homes.

United Domestic Workers of America, a union that represents home health care workers, held a panel discussion that included a representative from state Assemblyman V. Manuel Pérez’s office for people who work for or are served by In Home Supportive Services, which pays workers to help people do their grocery shopping, bathe, go to the bathroom, get to doctor’s appointments and perform other daily tasks. The immediate future is unclear.

U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken issued a temporary restraining order Dec. 2 on the state before it could send notices out to IHSS providers notifying them of a 20 percent cut in hours beginning New Year’s Day. Another hearing is set for Thursday…Read More

Riverside Chapter Holding Vigil Against Cuts December 13th

Vigil: Nestande, Emmerson, and Cook Pulled the Trigger on our Communities’ Education and Health & Human Services

(Front Riverside Community Hospital: Magnolia Avenue & 14^th Street) Read the rest of this entry »

Health Fair & Provider Appreciation Day

Riverside County Health Fair & Provider Appreciation Day, Saturday – November 19th, 2011.

Hundreds UDW members and community residents attended the first annual UDW Riverside Health Fair in Moreno Valley on Saturday, September 19th. Some 50 exhibitors provided free blood pressure checks, blood testing, massages, zumba dance and other health services were provided to the attendees. Click here to view photos>>

Riverside Health Fair & Provider Appreciation – Join Us Nov 19th

Free Blood Pressure & Cholesterol Screening,
Zumba Instructions, Massages,
Child Activities and much more!

When: Saturday, November 19, 2011
Time: 10:00am – 4:00pm
Where: Public Authority
12125 Day Street., Moreno Valley, CA

Download Flyer

Read the rest of this entry »

Riverside: ADDUS contract renewed in competitive bid process

Addus Home Care Awarded Contract Renewal in Riverside County, California

Red Orbit News Posted on: Thursday, 16 June 2011, 07:30 CDT

PALATINE, Ill., June 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Addus HomeCare Corporation (Nasdaq: ADUS), a comprehensive provider of home-based social and medical services, announced today that it was awarded a contract renewal to be the agency provider of home-based personal care through Riverside County's In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program.

Addus was the successful bidder in a competitive bidding process for the contract, which will be funded through a combination of state, federal and county sources. The contract runs from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012, with two additional option years. Valued at $11.5 million annually, the award represents Addus' largest sole-sourced contract. Addus is a full-service provider in Riverside County, with personal care, home health, commercial and private care. Read the rest of this entry »

Provider wages increased to $11.50 in Riverside County

– UDW, WORKING HARD FOR YOU –

Effective April 1, 2011, IHSS providers in Riverside County began receiving the hourly rate of $11.50.

This wage increase for Riverside County IHSS providers was included in the contract negotiated by the UDW bargaining committee and ratified by the membership in 2007. As you may recall, wage increases were subsequently suspended due to Gov. Schwarzenegger’s attempt to mandate reductions in the State’s contribution to wages, which resulted in litigation and a subsequent court injunction.

The State has now approved the rate change and completed all system modifications required to increase the rate from $10.25 to $11.50 per hour, as stated in our contract. More than 15,000 providers began to receive their wages at the new level beginning this month.

We’d like to thank the Riverside County Board of Supervisors for recognizing that care providers do an important job and need a living wage.

: Lead negotiators on both sides of the table reach agreement on contract in 2007: left; Curt Ostrander UDW/AFSCME; right Lisa Piña Human Resources Manager, Riverside County

Riverside Political Awareness Training & Solidarity Rally April 4th

Riverside members are learning how they can empower their clients, improve job security, and support the IHSS community through political action.

Political Training Workshops – contact UDW Riverside County and get involved! Read the rest of this entry »

Riverside County holds candlelight vigil April 4th — Join us to stand in solidarity with working people

Read the rest of this entry »

Riverside County Area Informational Meetings

: UDW AIM in Moreno Valley

Riverside County covers nearly 250 incorporated areas, from the city of Riverside, Corona, Lake Elsinore, Murrieta and Hemet, through the desert areas of Palm Springs and Indio, all the way to Blythe. There are more than 17,000 IHSS consumers in Riverside County and around 11,500 providers.

UDW Riverside holds periodic Area Informational Meetings (AIM’s) in different locations throughout the county so that care providers will not have to travel too far to get information that impacts their jobs and their families. We also conduct IHSS Program Advocacy Workshops to help IHSS consumers and their providers be prepared for yearly or intake assessments.

Contact UDW Riverside or check out the UDW Events Calendar to find a meeting in your area.

“UDW Woman Takes Charge” — Riverside member spotlighted in national AFSCME publication

UDW Riverside member organizer and home care provider, Blanca Quintero

Women comprise 56 percent of AFSCME’s 1.6 million members. Their activism and leadership have been critical to our union’s strength and success. Through leadership programs – and this year’s women’s conferences – the national union is equipping women with the tools and knowledge they’ll need to make a difference in our union, the labor movement and our nation. Here are the stories of five activists who are doing their part to build AFSCME’s power and confront the challenges ahead. Read the rest of this entry »

Riverside: free class for caregivers

Rancho Mirage, Friday February 25
ATTENTION: Homecare Workers, Baby Boomers, Families with recently diagnosed loved ones; Are you assisting in the care of a parent, grandparent or other older adult? Statistically 25% of all workers provide care in some degree for someone 65 or older.

Do you need resources as you are immersed in the Caregiver role?
Are you aware of the long term cost of eldercare?
Do you have advance directives for yourself, your spouse or your parents?
Who is eligible for long term care assistance if they need to enter a nursing home?
Are you stressed or depressed while juggling the challenges of work and eldercare?

The Riverside County Office on Aging, partnering with the Inland Counties Caregiver Coalition is hosting a Free Workshop For Family Caregivers in Rancho Mirage on Friday, February 25, 2011.

Please see the flyer for details.

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin highlights impact of cuts to IHSS

Caregivers, clients: IHSS cuts will hurt

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, February 7, 2011
Patricia Crouch’s hands shake. She sometimes has trouble opening pill bottles. She needs help bathing, dressing and cooking. “Getting clothes out of the closet is hard, more than anything else,” said Crouch, an 82-year-old Fontana resident who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 15 years ago. “It’s hard to get the clothes off the hangers.” Read the rest of this entry »

UDW rally in Riverside

State legislators; HEAR OUR VOICES — we will not sit quietly while our jobs and our clients are at risk.

Riverside and Orange County homecare providers joined together in solidarity outside of Assembly Member Brian Nestande’s office in Riverside to send the message. See more photos below and on Facebook- -