(Is Andrew related to Howard? Enquiring minds want to know...)
On 7/29/05, Lisa Frank <lfrank at seiupa.org> wrote:
> As I read all the posts about Fitch's article, it just happens that I have
> in front of me a spreadsheet that charts the advances of those self-same
> homecare workers organized by SEIU through the so-called public authorities
> (such workers are co-employed by their clients and by an entity that
> qualifies as an employer under the Act and so can collectively bargain,
> contract for group health insurance, and so on).
>
> In the event that anybody is interested in stupid things like facts, here
> are a few that might help us to recognize that Fitch's portrait of
> consumer-directed homecare workers is at least distorted. You all can
> decided whether those distortions are facilitated by sexism...
>
> 1. In the first place, only a minority of states operate Medicaid waivers
> that even permit family care-giving. The idea that organized (or
> unorganized) consumer-directed homecare workers are by and large just family
> is wrong, plain and simple. Incidentally, a majority of consumers report
> that they prefer non-family caregivers; one of the frequently-cited benefits
> of these authorities is that by creating a large pool from which consumers
> can choose,a lot of disabled people get independence from family for the
> first time in their lives.
>
> 2. Nor do most homecare workers wish to be merely part time or work for only
> one consumer. One of the frequently cited benefits of the public authorities
> through which this workforce gets organized is that by rationalizing and
> systematizing the homecare delivery system, authorities help workers to
> string together full-time employment.
>
> 3. I'll also note that two of the largest and longest established
> authorities -- those in Washington and Oregon -- were created by voters
> through state-wide ballot initiatives and not by Andy Stern, though I wonder
> what's so wrong with workers using their money and leaders to make politics
> work for us for a change.
>
> 4. While Fitch doesn't bother to relate any data about homecare workers'
> gains under the authorities, but the suggestion is that such gains are
> minimal. In fact, through the twin miracles of collective bargaining and
> group purchasing, thousands of workers have received health insurance for
> the first time ever. They have workers comp insurance for the first time
> ever. Their wage increases range from decent to impressive. Some authorities
> have formalized training programs that create career ladders so folks can
> move from personal assistant to CAN or LPN. Well, you know I could go on and
> on but honestly, I grow weary of debates that are wholly unmoored from
> empirical reality.
>
> My point isn't that the SEIU does everything right and that all discussion
> thereof has to be laudatory. It isn't that the public authorities are beyond
> criticism. But some basic commitment to understanding what the fuck we're
> talking about before we pass judgment would be refreshing.
--
Jim Devine
"Imagine believing in the control of inflation by curbing the money
supply! That is like deciding to stop your dog fouling the sidewalk by
plugging up its rear end. It is highly unlikely to succeed, but if it
does it kills the hound." -- Michael D. Stephens.