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July 5, 2012
Tell DOL to Do the Right Thing for Home Care Workers  
Renee Tillman
"Home care workers nationwide average less than $10 an hour. Nearly half of us live in families forced to rely on food stamps, Medicaid or another form of public assistance to get by. About 90 percent of us are women, and about half are members of minority communities: African-Americans, Latinos, Asians, Haitians and others. Some of us see the lack of respect for this work, and the low wages that keep workers and their families in financial jeopardy, as a social justice issue, the result of a long-held and outdated tradition of devaluing women's work and the work done by minorities."

So said direct care worker and DCA member Renee Tillman in a Houston Chronicle op-ed this Monday.

Renee's op-ed is part of a spate of recent opinion pieces--including one by home care employer and DCA board member Judy Clinco, one by professors Eileen Boris and Jennifer Klein, and one by the daughter of a hospice home care worker--in support of the proposed rule proposed from the U.S. Department of Labor, which would improve wages for home care workers by guaranteeing them minimum wage and overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Please join Renee in demanding justice for home care workers by signing our petition now.

To read the latest editorials, please visit our Respect for Home Care Workers page and scroll down to the News and Updates box.
The Direct Care Alliance is the national advocacy voice of direct care workers in long-term care. We empower workers to speak out for better wages, benefits, respect, and working conditions, so more people can commit to direct care as a career. We also convene powerful allies nationwide to build consensus for change.

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Questions? Comments? Story ideas? Please contact Elise Nakhnikian at 646-823-7434 or [email protected].