Vol. 71/No. 23      June 11, 2007

Often working 10 hours a day or longer without breaks, home-based day care workers don’t receive healthcare benefits, pensions, vacation, or sick pay. There are 28,000 such workers in New York City.

“Last week, I was so sick. I told them that I have the flu, that I couldn’t take the kids, but I got the kids anyway,” Adriana Alvarez told the Militant yesterday. She was referring to Hartley House, a non-profit group that manages city funds subsidizing child care, and from which she receives part of her income. Alvarez takes care of five children in Manhattan. “I called the parents, but there was nothing they could do because they had to work,” she said.

Median income for home-based day care workers nationally was about $8 an hour in 2004.

On May 17, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) submitted 12,000 signatures of home child-care workers in New York City seeking unionization. The signatures account for 43 percent of the workers, higher than the 30 percent required to trigger a union representation vote.

“Oh boy was I excited!” Melvina Van Dross, 61, a day care worker for 19 years in the Bronx, told the Militant today. “Many people said it couldn’t be done, but going around, knocking on doors, everyone was like, ‘Where do I sign?’ And who would have thought there were 28,000 of us!”

Van Dross said the organizing fight has been going on for two years. Even though most home-based day care workers are paid by government subsidies and clients assigned to them by private agencies, they are considered “independent contractors.” As such they are deprived protection of the federal National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which allows unionization, and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which mandates minimum wage and overtime pay.

Nannies are considered “domestic servants” and are also deprived of NLRA and FLSA protections.

After repeated protests by workers, New York governor Eliot Spitzer signed an executive order May 8 recognizing their right to unionize.

“The executive order allows them the right to union representation,” said UFT spokesman Ron Davis in an interview today. The UFT is seeking to organize these workers in New York City. “We’ll be bargaining with the state of New York for better pay and benefits.”

The Civil Service Employees Association is conducting similar organizing drives elsewhere in the state.

Alvarez said she felt “great” about the victory. “I would love to join the union,” she said.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home