After a long and grueling election season, Barack Obama was re-elected President of the United States while Democrats retained a majority in the U.S. Senate and Republicans in the House of Representatives. Voters made it clear that they want the President and Congress to focus on creating quality jobs. As the fastest-growing sector in our economy, the direct care workforce can play an important role in this effort. President Obama and Congress have supported various initiatives to stimulate the economy through investments in critical sectors such as teaching, manufacturing, construction, and green jobs. DCA will continue to educate the Obama Administration and Congress about why now is the time for direct care jobs to receive similar attention.
We are delighted that the focus now turns to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, not whether it will remain intact. On that front, Medicaid expansion and insurance subsidies for uninsured low- and middle-income families will go a long way toward
improving the health and economic security of direct care workers.
Another key issue for direct care workers is basic labor rights for home care workers. Nearly a year ago, President Obama and U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis announced a proposed rule to ensure that
home care workers receive minimum wage and overtime protections under federal law. In a
White House press release issued last December, the President stated, "The nearly 2 million in-home care workers across the country should not have to wait a moment longer for a fair wage. They work hard and play by the rules and they should see that work and responsibility rewarded." Home care workers can't wait any longer for these long-overdue but basic labor rights. DCA will continue to urge President Obama to honor his promise to our nation's home care workers by finalizing the proposed rule now.
There is certainly much more that needs to be done to improve direct care jobs. Paid sick days should become a right, and more funds to train and credential workers need to be directed to this workforce. Some of these much-needed investments can also be achieved through the passage of the
Direct Care Job Quality Improvement Act, reauthorization of the Older Americans Act and Workforce Investment Act, and other job creation initiatives in the next Congress.
Keep reading our free weekly e-newsletter,
The Direct Care News, and email alerts like this one and keep checking in with our
website for information about these and other issues affecting direct care workers, updates on progress made, and invitations to get involved in important efforts to improve direct care jobs.
