Who Pays for the
In Home Supportive Services Program?

Independent Providers mail their time cards to county offices because the program is administered by the county. So United Domestic Workers has to negotiate with the county for increased wages and benefits. Those of us who were involved in months of tough negotiations know there would not have been any increased wages or benefits provided by the county without collective bargaining by UDW. We simply cannot achieve this progress as individuals.

But every union member and client should know that the "In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program" is run by the county because State law says they have to do it. Every union member and client should know that 50% of the wages for home care workers comes from the State treasury and 50% of the money for our wages comes from the federal government. The county pays a small portion of the cost at first, but the county is paid back their share later on, out of state sales tax revenue. The money that comes from the state comes only as long as the politicians in Sacramento agree that "home care" is something they should spend tax money on.

UDW doesn't just bargain for wages and benefits they also talk to the politicians in Sacramento - Democrat, Republican and Independent - to convince them this is a good program and they should continue to pay for it with state tax dollars, in good times and in bad times.

As individuals we would not be able to represent ourselves the way that UDW can when they speak for thousands and thousands of home care workers and thousands and thousands of their clients. As a group we can have a lot of influence because many of us are going to vote at election time. Your union dues support a lot of hard work when it comes to getting wage increases and making sure the money keeps coming from Sacramento.

But it doesn't stop there. What about the federal government's share of our wages and benefits? Well, our Union pays about $7.40 a month for every union member, (even those members that only pay UDW dues of $10.00 a month) to be part of bigger unions who represent millions and millions of workers. These national unions have offices in Washington D.C., right where the federal government goes to work every day. The big unions we are affiliated with (AFSCME and NUHHCE) represent a lot of voters so they have a lot of influence with the federal government. They work hard to make sure the federal politicians keep sending money to California to pay for the wages we get for providing in home supportive services.

If you work for a company like a grocery store and are lucky enough to be represented, your union only has to negotiate with one employer. UDW has to negotiate with the county that runs the program, the state government that set up the program and pays 50% of our wages and the federal government that contributes the other 50%. That is a lot of work to do with the dues that we pay, and our union, UDW, does an incredibly good job. They just finished saving us from a governor that wanted to cancel half the program and cut the rest of us back to minimum wages.

Without our union representing us in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., politicians could cancel this program overnight and that would be a disaster for the disabled, the elderly and those who provide them with care. We need to help the union help us by being involved in any way we can, and keep our union strong so they are able to continue what they do so well.