A U.S. District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction last week ordering the state of California to halt pay cuts of nearly 20 percent -- from $12.10 an hour down to $9.50 -- for the state's 400,000 home care workers. This ruling is big news for home care workers and those they care for, as it will temporarily stop the cuts that were to go into effect July 1st in those counties at risk.

There's a war being waged against home care, and Governor Schwarzenegger is leading the call. We can celebrate this initial victory, but this injunction will not stop the Governor from trying to cut home care again. CA State Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer has made this much clear, saying that the Schwarzenegger administration "can't imagine a legal interpretation that would prevent the state from moving forward to implement [the proposed cuts to home care]."

It's up to us to keep the pressure on. Now that a court has ruled against the Governor and his cuts, we need to ask him to reverse course on these short-sighted cuts.
Please call the Governor now and tell him: "Home care not only saves money, it saves lives. We need a common sense budget that protects home care:"

HUGE news for home care workers and those they care for. In response to SEIU lawsuit, a U.S. District Court judge issued an injunction Thursday afternoon ordering the state of California to halt a proposed $2 cut in wages for the state's 400,000 home care workers.

The injunction has the effect of stopping pay cuts in all California counties that were planning on passing the state cut through to their home care workers.

The injunction, issued by federal judge Claudia Wilken, was in response to a lawsuit filed by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which has 250,000 home care members in California. The lawsuit alleges the wage cut violates the federal Medicaid Law, Americans with Disabilities Act, and Rehabilitation Act.

"This ruling is bringing hope to hundreds of thousands of home care consumers and workers all across the state," said Mary Harms, a home care worker in Contra Costa County. "We had no choice but to ask the court to help us after the governor and legislature let everyone down and put so many people in danger."

The enjoined state budget cuts would have slashed homecare workers' wages to as low as $9.50 an hour. The wage cuts would have forced thousands of homecare providers to leave their employment to seek living-wage jobs, forcing frail seniors and people with disabilities to enter nursing homes or other residential institutions.

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.

They came from across Fresno County, California, the U.S., and Canada with one mission: to protect Fresno County home care.

More than 900 SEIU members and activists gathered on Sunday, May 31st at the Fresno County Fairgrounds to kick off a massive "Get Out the Vote" effort to help home care workers protect their jobs, pay, and union. Rally participants pledged to help keep hope alive for 10,000 SEIU UHW Fresno County home care members, as they fight proposed wage-and-benefit cuts of $1 per hour beginning July 1 and vote in an election to determine their union representation on June 15.

One particularly remarkable Fresno county home care consumer and union activist appeared at yesterday's kick-off: ninety year-old Jessie Lopez De La Cruz, who was UFW's very first female organizer, hired by the notable Cesar Chavez himself in 1964. It was due to the tenacity of supporters like Lopez de la Cruz that the farm workers' cause and crusade for social justice received national attention and helped influenced labor laws.

Ms. Lopez De La Cruz had a special message when introducing SEIU Executive VP (and SEIU UHW trustee) Eliseo Medina at yesterday's event, as both worked alongside Cesar Chavez with the UFW: "The last time I was in these fairgrounds was 1973, when Cesar Chavez and hundreds and hundreds of farm workers were arrested in protests, and they put us in jail. I know the important work you do, and I support SEIU UHW!" Ms. Lopez De La Cruz urged everyone to stand strong for the SEIU UHW members who provide her care.

Cutting Home Care Workers' Wages: the Many Aftershocks
Of the roughly two million home care workers nationwide, more than 20 percent earn incomes below the poverty level. The 10,000 or so workers who provide in-home care for the elderly and those with disabilities in Fresno County might soon increase this overall number, as they end up below the poverty line in the aftermath of Gov. Schwarzenegger's proposed July 1 wage cuts. At any rate, slashing the state's already-low direct care wages at any level will likely force thousands of home care providers to leave their jobs in and cause workers to be more reliant on the state's support services.

"The economy is already devastating California's families, so this isn't a time to be cutting necessary support systems or reducing those already-small wages," said Bernadette Lynch, president of California Association of Public Authorities for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) and executive director for Sacramento County IHSS Public Authority. "The current pay for home care workers doesn't even amount to a living wage at this point, except in one or two counties. Reducing it will end up causing a dearth of providers, which will hurt consumers. It's devastating." Taking money away from California's program to make up for budgetary shortfalls will also result in more people having to resort to institutional care (nursing homes or other residental institutions)-- which is estimated to be four times more expensive to the State.

SEIU Files a Class-Action Lawsuit
Last week, SEIU filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, seeking a preliminary junction to stop the State of California and Fresno County from slashing the wages of home care workers to near-poverty levels and from to reducing the hours of care seniors and people with disabilities receive from going into effect. The suit, brought on behalf of individual consumers and SEIU, charges that the planned cuts put seniors and people with disabilities at risk and violate the American with Disabilities Act and Federal Medicaid Law.

Between now and July 1st - the date the home care cuts are supposed to take effect - home care workers, their families and supporters have much to fight for. Stop the home care cuts in California.

Two years ago, President Barack Obama walked a day in the shoes of SEIU home care worker Pauline Beck.

Today, Pauline and home care workers across California face pay cuts of up to 33% -- from $12.10 an hour down to $8.

Governor Schwarzenegger's belief that solving the state's fiscal problems on the backs of those who take care of the most fragile among us is an absolute disgrace.

Please send a message to the Governor telling him you strongly disagree with his misguided priorities: http://action.seiu.org/page/s/homecare

We're not going to let this happen without a fight.

Starting today, we're running TV ads in California featuring President Obama's day in the shoes of SEIU home care worker Pauline Beck. We also have a new print ad running in today's LA Times, featuring a letter from Pauline to President Obama asking for his help:

[...] I understand that these are challenging times, but these cuts hurt California. They put vulnerable residents at risk of losing their independence and force hard working people like me into poverty.

I know you are a good man and I am proud of the job you are doing. I hope you and the Governor can work together to help Mr. John, me and the 750,000 of Californians just like us. It would make such a difference in our lives.

Watch the ad and send a message to Governor Schwarzenegger.

We need to rally the state to stop these cuts: http://action.seiu.org/page/s/homecare

Make no mistake about it, SEIU will aggressively organize against this unjust and poorly thought-out policy decision.

More than 5,000 home care providers, care recipients, disability and senior advocates joined SEIU members and other concerned Californians on Friday, May 22nd in a rally in front of the California State building in downtown Los Angeles to speak out against the Governor's proposed cuts to the state's home care program, as laid out in his revised May budget.

Closing down streets, rally participants sent a clear message to Governor Schwarzenegger and Sacramento legislators that proposed cuts to the state's In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, which delivers care to more than 400,000 seniors and people with disabilities, will not be tolerated.

Check out some of the amazing photos from this rally:

Friday's rally is the first of many events to take place over the next several weeks to raise awareness of these dangerous cuts to California's home care program and their impact on the state's vulnerable residents and those who care for them. Learn more about the cuts laid out in Gov. Schwarzenegger's revised May budget and find out about upcoming actions.

SEIU members, seniors home care givers and community supporters from across the state will hold vigils tonight on the grounds of the State Capitol to protest Schwarzenegger's proposed cutbacks that would reduce vital services to seniors and people with disabilities. The vigil will include candlelight prayer circles Tuesday night, a rally and testimony by home care recipients and workers Wednesday afternoon, and a mass Wednesday night.

The cutbacks to services and jobs would reduce services to seniors and people with disabilities by as much as 27 percent, potentially forcing thousands from California's most vulnerable populations into costly nursing homes. It would slash wages for home care workers by up to 33% -- from $12.10 an hour down to $8, which is below the poverty level for a family of two. Find information about the vigil and additional events here.

SEIU also has a ad buy today on California's home care cuts which will air on select cable stations in LA, Fresno and Sacramento this week to coincide with the President's visit to the state. Print ads will run in targeted markets during the same period. Watch the ad here:

Gov. Schwarzenegger's belief that solving the state's fiscal problems on the backs of those who take care of the most fragile among us is an absolute disgrace. If you're not in California but still want to join the fight to stop cuts to home care, please write a message for Governor Schwarzenegger telling him you strongly disagree with his misguided priorities--we'll make sure that he receives it.

Caring for others. It's probably the most important thing your mother ever taught you. But it's a lesson Gov. Schwarzenegger seems to have forgotten, because on May 14th the governor released a preview of his revised budget, which seeks to implement deeper cuts to the in-home care program by slicing the state's contribution toward home care worker wages by a staggering 20 to 30 percent.

If implemented, these budget cuts would drastically affect the state's hundred of thousands In-Home Supportive Service (IHSS) workers and the 440,000 seniors and people with disabilities who rely on IHSS for daily care. The cuts would:

• Lower the State's maximum participation in IHSS wages from $11.50/hr to just $8.00 (minimum wage).
• Eliminate certain hours of care that will place home care recipients at risk.
• Limit IHSS Share-Of-Cost buyout to only the most impaired seniors and people with disabilities.

Home care workers are often the primary--and frequently sole--caregivers for their clients, sometimes being the only thing keeping a family member at home instead of in an institution. These cuts are a true assault on our seniors, people with disabilities and those who care for them. SEIU's Andy Stern on the cuts: "The Schwarzenegger administration suggests solving the state's fiscal problems should entail cutting the wages of people who do some of the most difficult work and help our most vulnerable citizens stay out of institutions. That is a disgrace and a sign of misguided priorities."

Join SEIU Executive VP Eliseo Medina and thousands of Californians at a rally tomorrow, May 22 at noon (PST) in Los Angeles to send a loud and clear message to Sacramento to stop the cuts to home care. (More rally info here).

Take action now to stop cuts to home care in California: Gov. Schwarzenegger's belief that solving the state's fiscal problems on the backs of those who take care of the most fragile among us is an absolute disgrace--please write him a message telling him you strongly disagree with his misguided priorities.

In a victory for struggling homecare workers, the Obama Administration ruled last week that California's proposed cuts to the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program violates the terms of the federal stimulus aid going to the state under the terms of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Citing a $40 billion budget deficit, California legislators passed a budget in February containing $1 billion in "trigger cuts," which included cutting a sizable chunk of funding to the IHSS program, which provides vital services that allow the elderly and people with disabilities to receive care in their homes--instead of being forced into nursing homes or institutions. California legislators voted to slice the state's contribution toward homecare worker wages by a staggering 20 percent, lowering the state's contribution from $11.50 to $9.50 per hour. The cuts were scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2009.

However, SEIU refused to take these cuts lying down and requested a second opinion from Obama's Department of Health and Human Services, saying the wage reductions violate provisions of the ARRA. The Obama administration agreed--and in a ruling last week, notified Schwarzenegger's office that California's cuts to state funding for IHSS are out of compliance with the requirements of the federal Recovery Act for receiving enhanced Medicaid funding.

This ruling is a major victory for California's 250,000 IHSS workers and the 440,000 seniors and people with disabilities who rely on IHSS for daily care. However, the fight's not over yet: the Obama administration is now threatening to rescind billions of dollars in federal stimulus money if Gov. Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers do not restore wage cuts to unionized home healthcare workers approved in February as part of the budget. "The Obama Administration has made it clear that the State cannot cut the homecare workers' wages. Now we need our counties to follow suit and take all the cuts off the table," said SEIU Executive VP Eliseo Medina.

Join the fight to stop home care cuts.