On Feb 24, 2008, at 5:01 PM, Mark Rickling wrote:
> I do recall him implying that homecare workers
> weren't real workers (and thus shouldn't be counted among the ranks of
> the organized) since their job was often to care for sick or otherwise
> infirm family members, and not presumably something sufficiently
> masculine like blue-collar industrial work.
No that's not what he said. He said that organizing home care workers was very different from organizing conventional workers. With conventional workers, you have to contend with hostile employers (unless you've pre-signed some sweetheart deal), which can be very hard. With home care workers, campaign contribs to Dem politicians can be exchanged for recognition. Actual gains for the workers are apparently slim to none, but SEIU gets to tout an uptick in density.
Doug