2010 has been a monumental year for home care workers in Pennsylvania! This fall, over 4,000 home care workers in PA decided to stop being invisible and form our union to stand up for ourselves, our families and our consumers.
In December, attendant leaders got together across the state to meet one another, share our stories, and plan to make our united voices heard as we stand up to protect home care services in this year’s budget process. It’s going to be a tough one, so we need to be prepared and get active fast!
Attendants met all across the state, in places like Reading, Allentown, Philadelphia, Belle Vernon, Williamsport, Harrisburg, Erie and New Castle. It was so exciting to see everyone and we were happy to have to find extra chairs to seat everybody who came. Following these amazing meet-and-greets, here’s what a few attendees had to say.
Mabel Harris, Cogan Station:
“It was great to meet other attendants because we don’t usually have that opportunity. Some attendants are out of work now, so we are all excited about working together in our union to create some kind of registry to make it easier for consumers who need care to find attendants who need work. Right now there is no way to do that.
“The more people we get to Harrisburg on January 25th, the stronger we’ll be. It’s important that attendants make that trip so we can be heard!”
Cathy Mayernik, Sinking Spring:
“The Reading meeting was at my house and it went well. We got a chance to meet each other, which is important because home care attendants work alone and we don’t usually get to know each other. We shared stories and learned that we have similar needs–benefits and a living wage–so we can keep doing this work and provide more hours of care for our consumers.”
Lamont Thompson, Philadelphia:
“I’ve been part of a union before so I understand what it means to have a strong voice by uniting with each other. I look forward to working with other attendants in our union to make improvements for our consumers and ourselves.
“It’s really important for every home care worker to get involved with the state budget. It’s going to affect all of us, so we need to make our voice heard. We need our consumers to speak up too–because together we have strength in politics.”
What’s Next in 2011
Despite the fact that home care preserves the dignity and independence of thousands of Pennsylvanians and saves taxpayers money over costly nursing home care, politicians are talking about making cuts to our programs.
We can’t afford to sit back and be silent on this issue. To make our voices heard by our Governor and legislature to fund home and community services, we’ve decided on two important actions.
First, we are gathering thousands of signatures—both on the ground and on the Internet–on our “Declaration of Independence” to show everyone what we stand for.
Second, we’re going to deliver our signed Declarations to decision makers in Harrisburg on January 25th so they can see for themselves just how much public support there is to protect the vital services that attendants provide to seniors and people with disabilities in Pennsylvania. If you’re going to be in the area, you will definitely want to be there! We’ll have transportation from around the state. Sign up here to reserve your spot and get more details!
If you haven’t already, add your name to the our Declaration of Independence.
Download the Declaration of Independence here.