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Contact: Eileen Boris
UC Santa Barbara Women's Studies Program
Phone: (805) 893-2727
Email: boris@womst.ucsb.edu


Labor Center Reports on Homecare


Workforce Needs in California’s Homecare System Workforce Needs in California’s Homecare System
May 2004, by Eileen Boris, Gawon Chung, Linda Delp, Ruth Matthias and Carol Zabin
» Briefing Paper PDF

This briefing paper summarizes the substantial advantages of California’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, and argues for the continuation of the program in the face of potential budget cuts. The authors document the higher costs to the state of nursing home care compared to home care, and outline the positive effects of workers’ higher wages and benefits on worker recruitment/labor supply, worker turnover, the quality of care, and lowered public costs.


The Impact of a Large Wage Increase on the Workforce Stability of IHSS Home Care Workers in San Francisco County
November 2002, by Candace Howes
» Working Paper PDF

Study traces changes to San Francisco’s homecare labor market following recent wage increases and the extension of healthcare benefits to workers. The author profiles the workforce of in-home support services (IHSS) before and after the major changes, looking at employment figures, income, worker turnover, “match” with consumers, and worker demographics. The author concludes with a discussion of the costs to county, state, and federal government.


Struggling to Provide Struggling to Provide: A Portrait of Alameda County Homecare Workers
May 2002, by Candace Howes and Howard Greenwich with Lea Grundy and Laura Reif
» Report PDF

This report provides a snapshot of the economic conditions facing approximately 8,000 homecare workers in Alameda County, California. Among other findings, the report documents that over one third of workers and their families lived below the Federal poverty line and that more than two-thirds of homecare workers are the primary breadwinner for their families. Development of this report was a collaborative participatory research effort sponsored by the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education with the East Bay Alliance for a Substainable Economy, SEIU Local 616, and Drs. Howes and Reif.


“Homecare Worker Organizing in California: An Analysis of a Successful Strategy”
Spring 2002, by Linda Delp and Katie Quan, Labor Studies Journal, West Virginia University Press, vol. 27, no. 1.
» Pre-Publication Report

Article examines recent struggles to unionize the state’s homecare workers and collectively bargain for better wages and working conditions. The authors survey campaigns in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Alameda counties, noting the obstacles to success and highlighting future issues of concern. The authors find a strategy of worker organization, policy intervention, and coalition building as the key to success in all cases.


State of the Art of Social DialogueState of the Art of Social Dialogue – United States
March 2000, by Katie Quan, Geneva: International Labour Office, InFocus Programme on Strengthening Social Dialogue, Working Paper No. 2.
» Report PDF

A survey of multi-stakeholder coalitions on today’s progressive landscape. The authors explain “social dialogue” as formal partnerships between labor, employers, and government in shaping social and economic policy. Finding this to be largely absent in the US, the authors examine various cases of labor in alliance with management alone, and with other social actors. Case studies are culled from across the nation, and range from local to national to international action.


 
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