SEIU District 1199NE

August 11, 2015

SEIU, Raimondo reach agreement to improve early childhood education

Last week, Governor Gina Raimondo and SEIU District 1199 New England reached an agreement concerning family childcare providers that are part of the state’s Child Care Assistance Program. This agreement was made in part due to legislation from 2013, which established collective bargaining rights for family childcare providers. The SEIU unanimously approved the two-year agreement.

Photo courtesy of http://www.seiu1199ne.org/1199-history/

One of the largest parts of the agreement is a $250,000 investment by the state to establish a jointly administered training and professional development fund. This program will help to improve the quality of care and early learning delivered by care providers. Those who are part of CCAP will also receive their first reimbursement rate increase since 2008.

“We have taken a big step forward in making it easier for working parents to find quality child care options in their communities that meet their work schedules,” SEIU District 1199NE Executive Vice President Patrick Quinn said. “All workers deserve a living wage and this historic agreement shows that Rhode Island is ready to recognize and live up to the value of the important work of our early educators.”

RI KIDS COUNT data shows that more than 70 percent of Rhode Island children under the age of six have parents who work, and are in child care at least part time. The Department of Human Services also reported that CCAP served approximately 5,800 families and 9,400 families in July 2015.

“Investing in our kids, and the systems that care of them, is essential to ensure everyone has an opportunity to make it in Rhode Island,” Governor Raimondo said. “Providing quality, affordable child care removes a critical barrier to getting and keeping a job for many of our hardworking families, improves the development of our kids and prepares them for success in the classroom. I am pleased that we have reach an agreement with SEIU to enhance our commitment to high quality child care and support working families.”

May 14, 2015May 15, 2015

SEIU proposes Medicaid solutions that don’t hurt workers

SEIU 1199, representing about 4,000 health care workers in RI, held a press conference to announce a series of initiatives “to improve the way the state invests in Medicaid-funded programs in long-term care and create a pathway to living wages for caregivers.”

The press conference was part of a “Day of Action” at the State House, and was followed by SEIU members presenting their ideas to their state reps and senators ahead of the day’s legislative session.

“I love my residents like my own family, but at the end of the day, I don’t bring home enough money to take care of my two daughters,” said Nichole Ward, a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at Greenville Skilled Nursing and Rehab in Greenville, who spoke of the difficulty of not earning a living wage. “After working hard, being on our feet, taking care of people for 40 hours a week, I shouldn’t have to choose between my electric bill and school supplies for my kids. We deserve at least $15 an hour.”

Patrick Quinn, executive director of SEIU 1199 and a member of the Reinventing Medicaid working group, outlined the eight points of SEIU’s plan to both cut Medicaid costs and increase wages for frontline medical workers while improving health outcomes. The eight points are expanded upon in a white paper entitled From the Frontlines to the Bottom Line.

1. Create a value based purchasing program to improve care quality and staffing in nursing homes and reduce re-hospitalization.

2. Increase transparency of “related party” finances and reporting, in effort to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse.

3. Target any nursing home rate reductions toward costs unrelated to the provision of direct care, such as Fair Rental Value and “home office” charges.

4. Focus increased revenue and rate restoration initiatives on direct resident care and workforce stability.

5. Claw Back: Recoup Medicaid reimbursements that are not used for their intended purpose, especially in regards to direct labor.

6. Cap Medicaid reimbursement for executive compensation based on facility size.

7. Realize Medicaid savings though more energy efficiency initiatives.

8. Expand Rhode Island’s Paid Family Leave Program from 4 to 6 Weeks.

Speaking in support of the SEIU’s effort was Jenn Steinfeld of the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island, who sees this as both a social justice and gender equity issue.

It’s a gender issue on two fronts, says Steinfeld, because women live longer, and therefore make up 74 percent of the elderly patients in the Medicaid system and women make up 90 percent of the direct care workforce. Additionally, the over representation of minorities in the field makes this a racial justice issue, notes Steinfeld.

CNAs Dawn Auclair and Manoucheka Robert both spoke about the attachment they have to their patients, the importance of their work, and their difficulty in performing this valuable work for such low pay.

Sarah Nolan, who works for the SEIU International Policy Department in Washington DC, said that the white paper they have released focuses on both short and long term solutions to the problems in Medicaid quality and cost. She also stressed the importance of front line medical workers playing a role in these discussions.

Near the end of the press conference, CNA Nichole Ward explained that experience is key when dealing with patients. Cutting costs and worker turnover can raise the stress level of front line health care workers, and residents in nursing homes can sense that stress, even if healthcare workers think they are hiding it.

Such an environment cuts against the efforts to improve health care.

February 6, 2015February 6, 2015

Healthcare workers picket in Pawtucket for fair wages

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As the sun was setting and temperatures dropped, over seventy workers and supporters took to the sidewalks with illuminated “Yes We Can! $15” signs chanting in both English and Spanish outside Blackstone Valley Community Health Care (BVCHC). According to their press release, the workers help to “deliver primary care to low- and moderate-income families primarily from Pawtucket, Central Falls, and the surrounding regions,” and are members of SEIU District 1199NE.

“We’re here,” said Kelly Medieros, who has worked for BVCHC for ten years, “because we want fair wages and affordable health care.”

In a written statement, Anabel Garcia-Campos, an Administrative Medical Assistant, said, “many of us who work here can barely afford to live—some employees earn less than $25,000/year, and we have to pay $5,000 for family health care.”

BVCHC has been expanding recently, capitalizing on the increase in business the health care provider has received under Obamacare. The number of patients served by the company has increased to over 15,000.

“We’re bursting at the seams,” said BVCHC executive director Raymond Lavoie.

To meet demand the company has constructed of a new building in downtown Pawtucket for nearly $7 million and purchased another building for $1.4 million in late 2014.

“Management can definitely afford to pay us living wages,” says Anabel Garcia-Campos, “but while they’re getting richer, they’re leaving us behind!”

Christine Constant, a registered nurse, said in a statement that “low wages and high turnover take a toll on how we do our jobs” and says that a living wage and affordable health care will “stabilize our workforce so we can keep providing consistent, high-quality health care for our community.”