California’s newest union: 45,000 childcare workers to be represented in contract talks

Tens of thousands of California childcare providers are now eligible to join a union following a vote to create a bargaining unit that will represent them in negotiations over pay and working conditions.

A panel of California labor leaders announced the vote on Monday, marking an end to one of the nation’s largest labor campaigns in the past two decades.

According to the announcement, 97% of voters supported the effort to join a union. Cheers and claps followed soon after — a 17-year push that required a new state law.

“Today we will begin the formal fight for the dignity and the respect we deserve,” said Miren Algorri, a longtime day care worker from Chula Vista, in the livestream.

Licensed child care workers are responsible for the state’s early care and education programs and help families participate in the workforce. Research from UC Berkeley suggests that more than half of providers rely on some kind of government assistance to get by.

In recent months, the more than 40,000 workers faced even tougher straits as the labor market tightened and fears of the coronavirus pandemic kept children at home. That makes the unionization effort especially important, advocates said.

Survey results from UC Berkeley’s Center for the Study of Child Care Employment suggests that around 38% of California child care programs don’t have enough protective equipment to stay safe from the virus. More than three-quarters of child care centers that are currently open reported having fewer teachers than before the pandemic.

In the new union, called Child Care Providers United California, members said that they plan to bargain for higher wages, better healthcare coverage and an improved retirement plan.

The news follows years of hiccups along the road to unionization. The California Legislature in 2011 passed a bill that would have allowed the workers to unionize. Then Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed it, citing concerns about raising costs during the Great Recession.

California spends about $2 billion a year on childcare, and the unionization is expected to increase labor costs.

Gov. Gavin Newsom last year signed an Assembly bill — authored by Assemblywoman Monique Limon, D-Goleta — that gave workers the ability to collectively bargain with the state.

“History was made today,” Limon said in a statement. “I am proud to have played a role in creating a pathway to make this happen and looking forward to continuing to work with them so that the children of all working people will be able to learn, grow and flourish in the years to come.”

In a prerecorded message, the governor congratulated the heroes and “she-roes” who fought for the union for 17 years.

“God’s delays are not God’s denials,” he said.

Investment in early child education has long been a priority for Newsom, who pledged billions during his campaign for preschool and childcare across the state. Advocates say that these programs can have ripple effects across the economy and are linked to lower rates of incarceration and a higher quality of life for low-income residents. The union’s supported by United Domestic Workers and SEIU Locals 99 and 521.

Advocates said in English and Spanish that the battle was not over.

“Cuando luchamos, ganamos,” said Riko Mendez, the Chief Elected Officer of SEIU Local 521. “When we fight, we win.”

This story was originally published July 27, 2020 at 4:31 PM with the headline "California’s newest union: 45,000 childcare workers to be represented in contract talks."