Will a contentious union contract dispute impact the upcoming Merced County supes races?
A union representing hundreds of home care workers says it plans to make its stalled contract talks with Merced County a front-and-center issue in the upcoming Board of Supervisors race.
Union officials say they intend to mobilize over 2,800 local members to support a candidate who prioritizes long term care. Thus far, eight candidates are vying for three seats on the March 3, 2020 presidential primary ballot.
“We will have serious conversations about those running for supervisor,” said Matthew Maldonado, UDW’s director of organizing and field services.
But could the Merced County United Domestic Workers union wield the political muscle to make a sizable difference in the race’s outcome? It’s possible, says Jessica Trounstine, a UC Merced political science professor who focuses on local politics.
“We have pretty good evidence that when unions mobilize their members, they can be pretty effective in local elections,” Trounstine said.
Trounstine said she’s seen research that shows unions use elections as a mechanism to force bargaining. The historically lower voter turnout during primary elections offers an opportunity for UDW to exercise its influence, Trounstine said. Average voter turnout for Board of Supervisors is 32% in Merced County.
“Generally speaking, the lower the turnout the more amplified any organization will be,” she said.
That could mean an election-changing amount of votes for a candidate who makes in-home care a priority.
In order for a contract to reach final approval, the Board of Supervisors must accept the entire proposal.
The three supervisors up for reelection received fewer votes than there are total UDW members during the 2016 primary election. District Two incumbent Lee Lor led former supervisor Hub Walsh with just 310 votes.
If half of the nearly 3,000 Merced UDW members do not vote or are unregistered, a significant amount of votes would still be organized toward a single candidate.
Supervisor Lloyd Pareira, who is up for re-election, noted that while the union has more than 2,800 members in Merced County, only about 800 are active workers.
No contract since 2015
The union has been without a contract with Merced county since December of 2015.
If no contract is reached by Jan. 1, 2021, the county may pay a penalty of about $78,000. The penalty is 1% of the county’s Maintenance of Effort requirement and would be paid with realignment funds.
UDW has asked for dental and vision benefits, as well as a wage increase from $12 California minimum wage to $13.50.
“Our position is that this is not a minimum wage job,” Maldonado said.
The county offered a 35 cent hourly increase above minimum wage and no benefits. UDW rejected it.
County officials say the large number of home care providers makes a wage increase costly. UDW members are paid with a combination of county, state and federal dollars.
Maldonado said he disagrees with the county’s standpoint. Because the county pays the smallest portion of union members’ wages, he said a pay increase is possible. The feds pay for over half, while the county accounts for only 33% of the non-federal share, said Maldonado.
That 33% comes to a total of $399,128 for the county to fund the union’s proposed pay increase, UDW estimates.
“There’s a lack of caregivers because the county continues to pay minimum wage,” Maldonado said. “We have a lot of people who are not receiving the critical care they need to live in their homes.”
The UC Berkeley Labor Center reported that an additional 200,000 home care providers will be needed by 2024 to care for the rising number of people older than 65.
UDW members say it is in the county’s economic interest to fund a pay increase because it will encourage spending locally. It would also raise the quality of life for both providers and clients, union members say.
“The county is putting people at risk by not making this a priority,” Maldonado said.
Maldonado said caregivers provide services to the county’s most vulnerable and under-served. Without UDW caregivers, many would be institutionalized, he said.
A soured relationship
The lengthy negotiation process has been marked by a series of starts, and just as many stops.
UDW has canceled or halted negotiation meetings five times since 2015, said County Public Information Officer Mike North.
Maldonado said the relationship between the union and the county used to be better, but soured after economic hardship in 2010.
“We agreed in good [economic] times we would come back together to provide a wage increase,” Maldonado said. For more than four years, the two groups have been unable to agree what that increase would be.
Clad in green shirts, home care providers from UDW have crowded Merced County Board of Supervisors meetings over the past four years. Union members, often sharing emotional anecdotes about those they provide care to, address the board and repeatedly ask for the county to approve their proposal. Several individuals who receive care from UDW have also spoken.
Multiple UDW members have described the years without a contract as “insulting.”
Several have appealed to the board by stating the supervisors, or their family members, may need to rely upon home care providers someday.
The union plans to turn members out to every Board of Supervisors meeting until a “respectful” agreement is reached, according to the UDW website. The most recent meeting was Dec. 16.
This story was originally published December 23, 2019 at 9:33 AM.
