SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s in-home caregivers, a historically underpaid workforce that serves a rapidly aging population, could receive a significant boost in bargaining power under a new bill introduced Friday.
The In-Home Support Services Employee-Employer Relations Act, authored by Assemblyman Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, would allow the state’s in-home supportive services (IHSS) caregivers to unite under one statewide bargaining unit. They would negotiate with the Department of Healthcare Services. Currently, workers bargain county-by-county with the boards of supervisors. Most only pay within a dollar or two of the minimum wage.
“These are skilled essential workers,” Haney said. “And they’re only getting more essential.”
