The votes were counted last week in an important union election among 10,000 home care workers in Fresno County, California. Now that the dust is settled, here is more detail about what the Fresno home care election victory signifies--and what it means going forward.

Friends and allies of SEIU are celebrating Pride month in a special way this year: Joining with home care workers in Fresno to protect their union and to keep their union voice strong in SEIU UHW.

The volunteer effort by SEIU allies for SEIU UHW caregivers follows outspoken support by the union for the rights and freedoms of LGBT people, including marriage equality. SEIU locals throughout California opposed Proposition 8, a statewide measure attacking marriage equality, and denounced a state court ruling last week upholding the measure.

Bao Thao drove from San Diego to volunteer time and meet with SEIU UHW home care members in Fresno. "Unions must keep supporting all people so we avoid such discrimination as Prop 8," she said. "SEIU has provided that support, and so I'm here to support these members."

Kevin Xiong, executive director of SOY (Shades of Yellow), a nonprofit LGBT organization in Minnesota, also volunteered his time to knock on doors in Fresno and support SEIU UHW members. "By going door to door, we are seeking to correct deliberate efforts to set the union off course and sap its strength to meet the struggles that only a large, experienced union like SEIU UHW can win. Home care workers in Fresno are passionate about their union and understand the need to stick together," he said.

Xiong joined many Californians in criticizing the negative signal he saw in the state ruling on Prop 8. "This is a civil rights issue," he said, "dividing people in two classes, those who can marry with benefits and those who cannot." He described the ruling as undercutting the rights of same-sex couples who hoped to marry in the future by denying their committed unions equal recognition under state law. "SEIU UHW continues to fight this upcoming vote to weaken its union," said Xiong.

The theme of legal recognition for families is at the heart of SEIU's support for legislation crucial to many LGBT couples, the Reuniting Families Act. The House bill, introduced yesterday by California Congressman Mike Honda, includes same-sex partners in its scope.

Governor Schwarzenegger says he thinks every day about the people who will be affected by his proposed cuts to health care will affect. "I know the consequences of those cuts are not just dollars," said the Governor to lawmakers yesterday. "I see the faces behind those dollars."

Fresno area home care provider Carlos Martinez and his wife Mikesha Martinez show the real face of those who would be impacted the most by these cuts.

Hundreds of home care workers from across the country continue knocking on doors this week, talking to Fresno home care workers about the importance of standing with their union in combating these dangerous cuts--which would cause nearly 400,000 elderly or disabled Californians to lose the services they need to live at home and still remain cared for.

In this new YouTube video, SEIU UHW member and upcoming leader Frank Valdez canvasses for the first time with mentor May Santiago in Fresno. "It's very important to take care of these folks at home, and that's why I'm here," says Frank, on why he's fighting alongside his fellow union members in support of Fresno home care workers.

Read more about SEIU's fight to block Governor Schwarzenegger's assault on home care and SEIU UHW's efforts to protect Fresno home care workers.