ULTCWLong Term CareUnited

WorkersSEIU ULTCW AnnUAL REpoRT 2011

The Fight For a Fair Economy

In 2011, we decided on accomplishing 4 key goals that would improve the lives of our members while strengthening our union and the communities in which we live and work.

ULTCW 4 KEy GoALS FoR 2011oRGAnIzInG To RAISE STAndARdSWe knew that in order to lift workers up, we had to focus on raising standards such as wages and benefits and giving unorganized long term care workers a voice on the job.

CREATInG qUALITy jobSWe heard from our members that they wanted to take action to transform current jobs into quality jobs that present a path to fulfilling the American Dream while demanding that corporate America do its part by creating the good jobs our communities need.

bUILdInG STRonGER CommUnITIESWe understood that in order to achieve a just society, we had to develop stronger, deeper relationships with folks on our blocks and in our churches who share our vision. dEEpEnInG mEmbER LEAdERShIp And InvoLvEmEnTOur members told us they wanted more training and experience to grow as leaders and help our union achieve its goals and vision.

WHAT WE SAIDWHAT WE SAIDWHAT WE SAID

WHAT WE SAIDWHAT WE SAIDWHAT WE SAIDWHAT WE SAIDWHAT WE SAIDWHAT WE SAID

WHAT WE SAIDWHAT WE SAIDWHAT WE SAID

In 2011…When a bank threatened to take the home of one of our members, we took the

giant step of working with others in coalition and even got arrested to help her fight back to make sure she kept her home.

When the call of “We are the 99%” was sounded, we took giant steps together, marching to City Halls, closing streets and joining Occupy movements throughout the state. We took on corporate

America and we won. And we’ll continue to do so until there is justice for all.

When our communities were clearly in need, we took the giant step of providing them with a Fresh Start for the school year.

When the Super Committee in Congress threatened to cut Medicare, we took a giant step with actions that said “Not on our watch!”

And we will continue to step up for quality jobs and step up for how long term care is carried out in this state to better serve consumers, patients, and workers and

we will step up with those who join us in getting to that place we call Justice

Taking These Kinds Of Steps Is Fighting For A Fair Economy

“”

It felt great having cities and counties throughout California recognize the

hard work we do.– Julie Chow, Monterey Park

Laphonza ButlerpRESIdEnT

SEIU ULTCW

RAISInG STAndARdS, LIFTInG voICESIn 2011, ULTCW members and staff worked tirelessly to make sure that the voices of our members and those seeking to organize were heard.

Because of our members’ dedication and action in the fight for social and economic justice, ULTCW:

• Won higher wages and benefits in contract negotiations for over 2,000 nursing home members.

• Got offers of reinstatement and back pay for 21 nursing home workers who were illegally fired for trying to organize a union.

• Brought a voice to 471 workers at six nursing homes facilities when they voted to join our union.

• Protected the wages and benefits of more than 15,000 in-home caregivers from being cut in Santa Cruz, Mendocino and Alameda Counties.

• Started organizing private agency home care providers to give them a voice on the job.

• Started contract negotiations for the over 150,000 members who provide in-home care in Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties.

• Provided our members with cost-saving discount programs to help stretch every dollar farther.

dEmAndInG Good jobSULTCW members took a bold stand in 2011 to shift the national conversation about our economy so that it focused on holding corporate America responsible and the need to create quality jobs.

Through this work, ULTCW members : • Took on corporations like Exxon Mobil, Bank of America, Wells

Fargo, One West Bank, Fannie Mae, Vons and others in order to protect the middle class.

• Held “Communities in Crisis” forums in 9 cities throughout California that exposed corporate greed.

• Had one-on-one conversations with over 40,000 households about the need to stand united and hold elected officials accountable.

• Had Congress members walk a day in the shoes of those who have lost their homes and jobs.

• Participated in the Good Jobs LA Kitchen Table Summit in which 2,400 community members told elected officials that the creation of good jobs had to be a national priority.

• Through mass protests and use of media, we changed the national debate to Job Creation instead of Debt Ceiling.

• We made sure that tens of thousands of home care workers still kept their health insurance when the state reduced consumer hours in February. We assisted another 1,200 providers with finding client hours through the ULTCW Homecare Exchange program.

2011 brought with it yet more economic challenges for our country. Although unemployment rates started to decline, over 10 percent of Californians remain without work. However, even with such difficult times, ULTCW members took giant steps and led the way in our fight for a fair economy, to ensure worker voices were heard, and lay the groundwork for 2012.

THEMES FROM 2011THEMES FROM 2011THEMES FROM 2011

THEMES FROM 2011THEMES FROM 2011THEMES FROM 2011bUILdInG STRonG CommUnITIESWe understand that in order to achieve a just society and a fair economy for all, we must strengthen not only our union, but also the communities in which we live and work. In 2011, we did exactly that when ULTCW members:

• Stopped the state’s 20 percent trigger cuts to the IHSS program from taking place on January 1st by filing a lawsuit with coalition members.

• Not only endorsed the “We are the 99%” Occupy movement but camped out and joined marches throughout California.

• Educated over 500 key senior, disability and veteran groups on the availability of quality in-home care through the ULTCW Homecare Exchange program.

• Provided back to school supplies, health screenings and more to over 13,000 Los Angeles and Oakland area families and children in need through our 2011 Fresh Start Community Festivals.

• Partnered with 30 California cities and counties to pass resolutions that recognized the important work of long term care workers by designating November as “Family Caregivers Month”.

• Deepened our reach into local communities and establish new relationships with community and elected leaders through our involvement in Good Jobs LA and the Occupy movement.

LEAdInG by ExAmpLE The success our union experienced in 2011 is due to the dedication and leadership of our members. During the year, thousands of ULTCW members took action and led by example to ensure that our goals for 2011 became reality and to prepare for the work ahead of us in 2012.

In 2011, ULTCW members:• Had 29,477 conversations with other ULTCW members.

• Endorsed President Obama and set priorities for 2012.

• Held Tele-Town Halls in which over 35,000 ULTCW members participated and learned about issues important to the future of long term care.

• Invested in their future by contributing to COPE, adding another 2,360 members in making politics work.

• Built a stronger union when over 21,750 ULTCW members participated in a union activity.

• Volunteered to lead 420 activities through our Member Committees.

• Facilitated several presentations to students of the California Long Term Care Workers’ Training Center.

“

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prepare for the work ahead

of us in 2012.

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I camped out because

we are the 99%!

– Dalisa King, Long Beach

“

”

“Corporate America isn’t paying its fair share. That’s

bad for America!” – Michele Reed, Los Angeles

ULTCW

“Banks got bailed out, we got sold out!”– Christina Knorr,

Solano

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“Although WI and CA are miles apart, we

are all united.”– Maria Andrade, Ventura

“By being involved in my union I’ve learned and

grown so much this year.”– Yesenia Barocio, Hollister

We educated folks and discussed

real solutions.

– Cindy Valdez, Santa Cruz

“

”

“Corporate America isn’t paying its fair share. That’s

bad for America!” – Michele Reed, Los Angeles

56

“Taking action means bringing about change.

I’m proud of the work we do as ULTCW to make

needed change happen.” – Natasha Gordon, San Bernardino

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Photo Key: 1) CA Attorney General Kamala Harris at MLK Day Event, 2) Wisconsin Rally, 3) SEIU President Mary Kay Henry at March for Workers’ Rights, 4) ULTCW President Laphonza Butler on Sec of Labor Panel for Immigration Reform, 5) Good Jobs LA Action, 6) May 1st Rally, 7) Watsonville Action, 8) Fresh Start Festival, 9) ULTCW Members Participate in Occupy Protests, 10) Nursing Home Members take Action.

SEIU ULTCW is comprised of 180,000 long term caregivers (nursing home and in-home care workers). One of the most culturally diverse unions in California, ULTCW members work in 16 counties throughout the state and speak over nine languages. We are both natural born citizens and proud immigrants who came to this country to seek a better life and to achieve the American Dream. We take pride in the work we do and deliver quality care with great passion to those in need.

Guided by five core values (Accountability, Diversity, Empowerment, Excellence and Transparency), ULTCW’s Executive Board and its membership are dedicated to stepping up and leading the way in the fight for a fair economy and a just society.

SEIU ULTCW Executive Board

The success that ULTCW experienced in 2011 is due to the leadership of our members and their financial support. Only through these contributions are we able to take the steps necessary to make our journey to justice a success.

Through our dues we’ve been able to ensure that the voices of long term care workers are not only being heard, but have become a powerful voice for all working families and those seeking work. In 2011 we successfully held elected officials accountable, united long term care workers for greater strength, fought for higher standards, and protected vital programs from devastating cuts.

This chart summarizes how our dues are being put to work for a better future for us all.

yoUR doLLARS AT WoRKULTCW mEmbERS dUES - $47 mILLIon

Organizing to Raise Standards45%

Running an Efficient Organization7%

Deepening our Leadership

27%

Protecting the Future of Long

Term Care6%

Creating Quality Jobs9%

Building Stronger

Communities6%

“ ”Our diversity is what

makes our union great!– Enrique Camacho,

San Bernardino

ELECT CAndIdATES Who hAvE ThE CoURAGE To CAREFor workers in long term care, there is much at stake at the local, state and federal levels. All of these levels of government affect quality of care, the role of caregivers, and members’ paychecks. In addition, people in our communities are hurting and in some cases we are dealing with candidates that have not done much to help us, yet they want the privilege to represent us.

We have to work to re-elect President Barack Obama and support candidates at the state and local levels who share our values and have the courage to make decisions that help working families.

pRoTECT And pRomoTE ThE AFFoRdAbLE CARE ACTIn the same motion of our election work, we will have to still fight back attempts to undercut the promise of healthcare reform championed by President Obama’s 2010 Affordable Care Act. Before the elections in November of 2012, “Anti-Care” Members of Congress may try to remove parts of it, jeopardizing critical dollars that will help pay for the future of in-home care and making it even more difficult for working families that are struggling due to sky-rocketing healthcare costs and lack of access. We are starting to see the good impact of healthcare reform but need to be ready to step up and fight back if others try to roll it back.

WIn ThE FUTURE oF In-homE CARETime and time again, in-home caregivers and care recipients encounter any number of problems with the way the current IHSS system is set up. It needs to change. And 2012 is a moment in which we can step up to do so by making sure that key principles are achieved. These principles include: finding a stable and adequate funding source for the IHSS program, making home care providers an integrated part of their consumers’ healthcare team, ensuring the IHSS program provides accurate, consistent and respectful assessments for consumers, assuring that home care providers are respected and receive the training they need to keep themselves and their consumers safe, and stabilizing the workforce by empowering caregivers with a unified approach to collective bargaining and an opportunity to finally get the chance to win better wages, improved healthcare, and even paid time off and retirement security.

bARGAIn FoR qUALITy jobSA key component in our fight for quality jobs is to build on the work in 2011 where the most massive nursing home bargaining period took place for us in recent years. Through these negotiations we must not only improve standards for our members, but also make a fundamental shift in the way in which employers treat employees. No longer should any nursing home worker be forced to work for substandard wages and live in fear of employer retaliation for taking a stand for what is right for both workers and residents.

oRGAnIzE To RAISE STAndARdSWhile ULTCW is large in size, there are still thousands of California long term care workers who have no voice on the job. Through our goal of organizing thousands of workers in 2012, we not only empower them to demand change in their workplaces and in their communities, but we will also be able to raise the standards for all long term care workers.

We took giant steps in 2011, but that only prepares us for what lies ahead. We will need to “step it up” even more to protect gains made and bring some vital changes that improve the lives of our members and the people they take care of.

“ ”

ELECT CAndIdATES Who hAvE ThE CoURAGE To CARE

oRGAnIzE To RAISE STAndARdS

pRoTECT And pRomoTE ThE AFFoRdAbLE CARE ACT

bARGAIn FoR qUALITy jobS

WIn ThE FUTURE oF In-homE CARE

As long term caregivers, we’re all in this together.

– Cheryl Neal, Cambrian Home Care Worker

Being a caregiver is the most rewarding

thing I think I’ve done in my

lifetime.

”

“

– Verdia Daniels, SEIU ULTCW President Emeritus (1931 – 2011)

In 2011, SEIU ULTCW lost its president emeritus, Verdia Daniels. Because of her leadership and courage, hundreds of thousands of long term care workers now have a voice on the job. In 2012, we will continue to follow in Verdia’s footsteps and fight to bring equality to all caregivers and respect for the important work we do.