Caregivers’ conundrum

On Tuesday (Nov. 18), the Butte County Board of Supervisors meeting kicked off with a resolution proclaiming November In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Home Care Workers Month. However, program proponents and labor representatives for IHSS workers say the gesture is just lip service, arguing that the county not only refuses to adequately support these workers but, due to a Kafka-esque government flub, won’t even meet negotiators at the table.

IHSS is a program that helps the elderly and people with disabilities remain in their homes by paying caregivers—often friends or family members—to provide domestic, personal and limited medical services. Caregivers are paid through a combination of federal, state and county funds. In Butte County, IHSS workers are represented by the California United Health Care Workers (CUHW) Local 4034.

“It’s nice for [IHSS caregivers] to be honored, that’s definitely a good first step,” said Lois Kugelmass, CUHW’s chief negotiator in Butte County. “But there are deeper, more significant issues here, particularly that the county is paying poverty wages to about 3,000 of its residents who work for IHSS.”

Kugelmass explained IHSS providers currently make about $9 an hour, with raises few and far between. The last increase was a 50 cent hike (paid by the feds) written into the county’s most recent labor agreement, a memorandum of understanding signed by both parties in February 2013, but that raise was offset by the state minimum wage rising to $9 an hour at the beginning of this year.

That contract was supposed to be the last between the county and the union. In 2012, when the agreement was hammered out, the state was expected to assume the responsibility of collective bargaining in the near future, due to the planned implementation of the Coordinated Care Initiative, an effort to streamline medical care for those dependent on social services.

However, implementation of that plan has been slow going and scaled back. The 2012 legislation authorized the state to assume collective bargaining duties in just eight counties (Butte is not one), most of which have yet to comply, and further legislation is needed to extend it to other counties. CUHW personnel maintain that Butte County remains responsible for negotiations.

An Oct. 22 letter from California Department of Finance Director Michael Cohen to California State Association of Counties Executive Director Matt Cate, provided by CUHW, seems to make that obligation clear, stating that IHSS negotiations remain a county responsibility in all but a handful of areas.

Brian Ring, Butte County’s director of human resources, said he’s read the letter, but some confusion remains locally. He said county officials recently directed staff at the Department of Employment and Social Services, which oversees IHSS locally, to seek clarification.

“We have negotiated with CUHW, and have an existing contract agreed on by all parties just a year and a half ago,” he said, adding the county will resume negotiation duties if they find they’re obligated to.

Kugelmass argues the time to renegotiate is now, with local IHSS workers receiving abysmal wages and most of them lacking health care coverage. She explained the county pays only 15 percent to 17 percent of IHSS wages, with the rest covered by state and federal funds, and also noted that home health care programs are less expensive than the alternative—institutionalizing the elderly and infirm.

CUHW filed a fair labor practice complaint with the Public Employment Relations Board against the county in October, but Kugelmass hopes officials agree to meet soon, rather than fight a legal battle.

“It’s not just about money, it’s also about the rights of disabled people,” Kugelmass said. “They have the right to be in the least restrictive environment possible.”