Care givers, county strike a deal on wages

Home support workers’ wages stay at $11.50 an hour

By JILLIAN JONES
Register Staff Writer

A hard-fought battle against pay cuts for workers who care for the infirm finally came to an end this week, with care workers on the winning side.

The Napa County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved an agreement with Services Employees International Local 6434 — the union that represents nearly 1,000 in-home support service workers in Napa County — requiring the county to maintain its $2.01 an hour contribution to the program through the end of 2009.

The move tentatively keeps wages for Napa County IHSS workers at $11.50 an hour, assuming the state cuts its contribution.

The conflict started earlier this year when the state announced plans to reduce its share of funding for IHSS. Because the total pay for IHSS is a combination of state, federal and local funding, a decrease in state funding would allow for a decrease in local funding, as well.

Napa County “legally wasn’t required to pay at that (same) rate,” explained Nancy Schultz, IHSS program manager for Napa County. “At the time we did the negotiations, the state was reducing how much it was going to pay, so that proportionately would have made the county’s contribution go down.”

If the state cut its share, and the county cut its share on top of that, pay for local in-home care workers would have dropped from $11.50 to $9.50 an hour.

IHSS employees turned out week after week at Napa County Board of Supervisors meetings, lobbying for sustained county funding. After fierce negotiations between the county and union officials, the board finally agreed to temporarily maintain its contribution, even in the midst of state cuts.

Under this scenario, IHSS wages would have dropped to $10.20 — better than $9.50, but still a cut from the state.

A federal judge threw in a surprise, though, when he ruled last week that the state cannot cut its share of IHSS wages. Schultz said Napa County received official notification on Tuesday of the ruling, which would keep IHSS wages at the current $11.50 per hour.

Schultz said the state may appeal the decision, and added that the county will be able to revisit its contribution starting in 2010 under the agreement approved this week.

“We put it that way because there are so many unknowns,” Schultz explained. “It’s just wildly confusing and ever changing.”

While the state contribution remains in limbo, SEIU spokeswoman Susannah McDevitt said she is pleased with the outcome of negotiations with Napa County.

“Caregivers and their clients are relieved that we have a fair agreement with the (county) in place,” McDevitt said. “We will now be able to focus our energy on delivering quality care, and protecting the program from state cuts. Many thanks to all in the community who have supported us during this challenging process.”

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