Workers in New York City are celebrating the just-completed union election for 28,000 home child care providers. By an overwhelming margin of 8,382 to 96 (98.87%!) providers voted to have as their exclusive representative the United Federation of Teachers.
This is the largest single union organizing victory in New York City since 1960. It is the largest election victory for a new unit in the history of the American Federation of Teachers. It is the culmination of two years of organizing by the UFT and ACORN. It is tens of thousands of phone calls, thousands of doors knocked, and an untold number of conversations. You don't get moments like this in the labor movement every day. And when you are able to create one this big, it is important to savor it and reflect on what it means.
Most importantly, it is about people who work hard and who need a voice. Home child care providers care for over 100,000 New York City kids. Providers are the first educators for these kids, helping them with their reading and homework. And in return, their average salary is $19,000 a year with no pension, no health insurance and no paid sick days. That makes home child care providers among the lowest-paid workers in the region. They don't get professional development or supports to help them do their job better. They want more for themselves, for their families and for the children they care for. And they have stood up for themselves.
The AFT blogs about what it was like listening to one of the activists in the campaign tell her story. And that is the first thing that unions do. They create the opportunity for you to tell your story.
So how did this victory happen?
Home child care workers are typically employed as independent contractors. Their pay is subsidized by the state and the state sets payment rates while the city regulates the work. In order for these workers to get a union, the state had to decide to treat them as public employees for purposes of collective bargaining.
Governor Elliot Spitzer signed an executive order to do just at the start of his term in office. Michelle Bodden of the United Federation of Teacher had a post up at Firedoglake not too long ago on the executive order.
Too often, employers create independent contractor arrangements to deny workers the right to have a union or to be covered by other employment law. This arrangement swings that pendulum in a pro-worker direction.
The UFT also had an important partner in ACORN, the community advocacy organization. ACORN was an ideal partner because this wasn't a campaign that could really take place on the shop floor. Home child care workers are in the community, and that's where the campaign needed to be.
We have a lot more work to do, trying to provide services directly to these workers and helping them gain their voice at the bargaining table and in the corridors of power. But it is fantastic work to be doing.