Budget & Legislation

UDW is the home care providers union and the voice of caregivers in the State Capitol. We are fighting together for the issues that matter most to us and our clients: ending cuts to IHSS client hours, fighting restrictions to overtime and provider hours, expanding paid IHSS services and more. Read our 2017 legislative scorecard here!

Our voices: Social Security for IHSS parent and spouse providers

By on June 14, 2016   /   Budget & Legislation, News  
Our voices: Social Security for IHSS parent and spouse providers

UDW asked and you answered! Hundreds of spouse and parent caregivers have responded to UDW’s survey on how ineligibility for Social Security, Medicare, and other benefits impacts our families. Currently home care workers who care for their spouse or child are unable to receive important retirement and social insurance program benefits. Due to state and federal laws, these providers are currently unable to make Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) and State Unemployment Insurance (SUI) contributions on their paychecks, which fund these benefits. Of providers surveyed, approximately 75 percent of us care for our child, while 17 percent care for our […]

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Demanding dignity and respect for spouse and parent home care providers

By on June 10, 2016   /   Budget & Legislation, District 3, Homecare & IHSS, News, Our Stories, Riverside  
Demanding dignity and respect for spouse and parent home care providers

My husband Leon is 69 years old and lives with COPD and cirrhosis of the liver. My full-time job since 2000 has been providing him with in-home care, so he can remain in our home where he is happiest and healthiest. I’ve been a home care provider for 16 years, and for 16 years I’ve worried about what would happen if an unexpected tragedy struck my family. One of my biggest fears is my husband passing away. I would be grief stricken, and because I don’t qualify for unemployment, I would also have no financial safety net while I searched […]

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Update on our work to improve overtime implementation

By on June 8, 2016   /   Budget & Legislation, Homecare & IHSS, News  
Update on our work to improve overtime implementation

After decades of exclusion from Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) protections, home care providers won overtime pay for the first time in history last year. And on February 1st, FLSA benefits began for eligible IHSS providers. Now, many of us are eligible to receive overtime, travel time, and medical wait time pay – great benefits for caregivers and our families. UDW caregivers fought hard to secure these new benefits, and now we’re working to make sure they are implemented fairly. Throughout the year, UDW members have lobbied and testified to lawmakers at the Capitol about the new program rules, and […]

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One way to fix our country’s child care crisis: invest in family child care providers

By on June 8, 2016   /   Budget & Legislation, Child Care News & Legislative Updates, News, Our Stories  
One way to fix our country’s child care crisis: invest in family child care providers

By Doug Moore, UDW Executive Director Gloria Carter has run a home-based daycare in Sacramento County for over 20 years. She provides child care and educational opportunities for the 12 kids in her care with the help of one daycare assistant. And she’s seen first-hand the child care crisis both California and the nation are experiencing. “It’s terrible,” said Gloria. “Many of the parents of the kids in my care struggle to pay for child care while trying to make ends meet, and when I lose kids in my daycare, my family struggles too.” Far too many working families can’t […]

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Without Social Security, I may never be able to retire

By on June 1, 2016   /   Budget & Legislation, District 6, El Dorado, Homecare & IHSS, News, Our Stories  
Without Social Security, I may never be able to retire

My 39-year-old son Jacob was born with a brainstem defect. He relies on me 24/7 to provide for all of his needs, including bathing, preparing his meals, paramedical care, and exercise. My home care wages are the primary source of income in our home when my husband has trouble getting landscaping work. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work as Jacob’s home care provider, but I’m frustrated that my work is not taken seriously. Exclusion from Social Security and Medicare is going to hurt my family. At some point, I may not be able to care for Jacob any longer, […]

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