Dear Fellow IHSS Providers- I hope this Spring finds you well and filled with the special kind of strength we all call on to do our work as caregivers. I would like to thank everyone who participated in the UDW 2019 Elections and look forward to another term as your Statewide President. I am grateful for each and every one of you and the trust you put in me to lead your union. As you know by now, our union is being tested once again by those who power who cannot stand to see caregivers taking power for themselves to […]
Read more →Spring 2019 Caregiver
My name is Delfina Gonzalez. I care for my daughter, Amanda. She is 23 years old and lives with Down syndrome. She is nonverbal and I need to do everything for her. I found out about IHSS through a friend and I applied for the program in October 2017. At orientation, I signed up as a UDW member because I liked the idea that there were other providers ready to help me if I need it. I needed that help right away. The social worker only gave my daughter 25 hours. I knew that amount didn’t reflect the amount of […]
Read more →When IHSS hours were cut by 7% in 2013, UDW members and their clients were severely impacted. Critical, life-improved care was not paid for—or not provided. We fought back and we were successful: Starting on July 1, 2015, the cuts were restored. But they were restored on a one-time basis that has had to be renewed yearly. In other words, even if we haven’t felt the 7% cut in hours since 2015, that cut is still written in the law. We say, “End the cut permanently. And end it NOW!” That’s why we are at the California State Legislature this […]
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When the Camp Fire roared through Butte County in November, it displaced hundreds of IHSS providers and their clients. In the aftermath of the fire, when local banks, post offices and other services were closed, providers who get their pay through direct deposit had one less thing to worry about. Many of the displaced members who came to the UDW’s Butte County office in Chico wanted to know how they could sign up for direct deposit, too. But direct deposit isn’t just a great tool for those of us going through a crisis; IHSS providers who get their pay with […]
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Over a thousand child care providers joined UDW so far this year, making us stronger than ever UDW represents over 110,000 IHSS providers in 21 counties up and down California and we are stronger than ever. Our strength comes not only from our numbers, but from the fact that, as caregivers, we know how to get things done and we lead from the heart. In 2015, UDW’s home care providers opened our hearts, and our membership, to family child care providers, inviting them to join UDW and use our shared experiences as care providers to fight for a better future […]
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