On Jan. 8, the Board of Supervisors – acting as the Lake County Public Authority Board of Directors – announced the tentative settlement, as Lake County News has reported.
California United Homecare Workers, the union representing IHSS providers locally, negotiated with the county for the two-year contract.
Michelle Dibble, adult services program manager for IHSS and the Public Authority's coordinator, said as of Feb. 1 there were 1,425 IHSS providers in Lake County, serving about 1,600 consumers.
For the agreement to become official, the county's IHSS workers had to ratify it, which they have done, Scott Mann, a union spokesmen, confirmed to Lake County News on Wednesday.
“It was 98.5 percent 'yes,'” said Mann.
Public Authority Board now needs to approve it, he added, and there also is a formal state approval required.
County Counsel Anita Grant said she expected the agreement would go to the Board of Supervisors/ Public Authority Board of Directors very shortly, possibly as soon as the Feb. 19 or Feb. 26 meeting.
Once all parties have officially signed off, the contract goes into effect and is valid through 2009, said Mann.
Under the contract terms, IHSS providers immediately would go from their current wage of $8 per hour, or minimum wage, to $8.33 per hour, said Mann.
In addition, they would receive 60 cents per hour toward health care coverage, which Mann said was a critical issue for the providers.
Health coverage for IHSS providers will be offered through the Long-Term Care Workers' Health Trust Fund, said Mann, a health fund designed by and for care workers. He said the fund offers health, dental and vision coverage.
The contract calls for another wage increase for IHSS workers that would go into effect on Feb. 1, 2009, and raise wages from $8.33 to $8.75, said Mann.
Other contract terms call for establishing a labor management committee to make sure that workers have a voice on the job, Mann said.
County, IHSS providers weigh in
Public Authority Chair Ed Robey said the contract has been years in the making. The county had previously negotiated with other unions before California United Homecare Workers began representing local IHSS providers as their sole union last year.
“We thought we had something worked out a year ago,” said Robey.
At that time, the county had proposed a two-tier system which would have raised IHSS providers' pay from minimum wage – then $7.50 an hour – to $8.50 per hour if they underwent drug testing and background checks, and took additional training.
Robey said the state has to approve any rate changes to IHSS workers' pay, which was why at the public authority/board's June 5, 2007, meeting, they voted to ask the state to consider it.
He said the county cares very much not only about health care providers but also about care recipients, which is why they wanted better training and monitoring.
However, the proposal resulted in a clash between the union and the county, with the union at one time launching a recall against four supervisors, excluding Supervisor Denise Rushing.
Formal paperwork to actually carry out a recall, however, has not been filed, which Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley confirmed this week.
No parts of the two-tier proposal were named in the terms of the newly accepted contract.
Robey said he's happy about reaching an agreement on the new contract, which has moved the county and the union to a new starting point.
“It was important for us to get something,” he said.
IHSS provider Diana Wells of Clearlake has been a member of the negotiating team for three years. Like Robey, she agreed that the contract is a good start.
Wells, 58, has been a home care provider for more than 20 years, working with IHSS for 18 years. She said she cares for a single client currently, spending more than 40 hours per week caring for the wheelchair-bound woman.
The contract and its provisions for better pay and health care are important for Wells, who has worked for years at minimum wage with no health insurance.
Her situation became critical last year, when she suffered a pulmonary embolism, a serious condition caused by a blockage, often a blood clot, in a lung's artery. Wells was off of work for seven months, only just returning to work full-time on Feb. 1.
For her, the health benefits will help her not worry about having to choose between groceries and the ongoing medical care she now requires, she said.
Wells, who plans to continue as part of the negotiations team, hopes that other benefits, such as vacation, will be a part of future negotiations. “My feeling is, we're kind of starting small and we'll work up.”
She said she plans to continues an an in-home caregiver for as long as she can, noting that the connection with people is what keeps her going.
“You're their only lifeline to the world. It breaks your heart sometimes. I just fall in love with them. You can't help it,” said Wells.
Many people may think IHSS providers are “glorified housekeepers,” but it goes much deeper than that, said Wells. A very human connection is formed, and providers often are a lifeline for their clients to the outside world.
“Until you've done this type of work you really don't know what it's about,” she said. “You really don't until you've walked in our shoes and done this for years and years.”
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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