The Direct Care News 
For direct care workers and their allies March 25, 2014
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It's Women's History Month: Time to Pay Tribute to Direct Care Workers
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 | | Carla Washington |
Skilled. Compassionate. Hard working. Good listener. These are just a few of the many positive adjectives often used to describe direct care workers. Since women make up over 88 percent of the direct care workforce, Women's History Month is yet another perfect opportunity for Direct Care Alliance to recognize you for being "the backbone of nurse work," as CNA Katrina Gilbert put it in HBO's Paycheck to Paycheck: The Life and Times of Katrina Gilbert. In other words, you rock! Lately a lot of attention is being paid to the direct care workforce--and by more than those of us who usually pay attention to the topic. Read more from Carla Washington.
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Direct from Washington, D.C.
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Direct Care Workers Less Likely to Have Access to Paid Sick Days: A fact sheet released this month by the Institute for Women's Policy Research addresses access to paid sick leave in the U.S., finding that only 31% of workers in personal care and service occupations (which include personal care aides) had access to paid sick days in 2012, compared to 61% of all private sector workers. The fact sheet also finds that several groups that are disproportionately represented among direct care workers, including Hispanics and low-wage workers, are far less likely to get paid time off. For instance, only 28% of people who earn less than $20,000 a year and 59% of those who earn between $20,000 and $34,999 have access to paid sick days, compared to 83% of those who earn $60,000 or more.
Women's Economic Bill of Rights Resolution Introduced in House: Earlier this month, U.S. Representative Ron Barber (AZ-2) introduced H.RES.507, a resolution expressing the sense of the U.S. House of Representatives in support of a women's economic bill of rights. The resolution, which has 39 co-sponsors, expresses support for a variety of efforts that could benefit the majority-female, chronically low-wage direct care workforce, including pay equity, fair treatment in the workplace, paid family and medical leave and economic and retirement security.
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Why Direct Care Worker Wages Are Key to Closing the Gender Wage Gap
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 | | Jessica Brill Ortiz |
March is Women's History Month, a time to pay tribute to female leaders and visionaries from previous generations by recognizing their contributions to the effort for women's equality. This March, let's take it a step further by working to become a society where women's equality is truly universal and secure, no matter who you are, where you're born or what you do for a living. Let's commit to finally closing the gender wage gap that leaves women earning 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. If we are going to close the gender wage gap, we can't only make sure that women who do the same job as men get paid the same wages. We must also improve wages for the millions of women who are paid less than men because they do work that has traditionally been done by women--and paid at a much lower rate than work traditionally done by men. Millions of these women are direct care workers. Read the rest of Jessica Brill Ortiz's article in The Huffington Post.
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Get Direct Care Workers Covered: The deadline for applying is March 31
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 The deadline for applying for health insurance through Affordable Care Act is fast approaching! Before enrollment ends on March 31, join the five million people who have signed up since the health insurance marketplaces opened. You may qualify for financial assistance, or even for free care through Medicaid. If you are still uninsured, DCA can help you enroll. If you're in New York, visit DCA's Get Direct Care Workers Covered web page for more information. If not, check out healthcare.gov.
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