2013 LEGISLATIVE SCORECARD Thank you For voting 100% with UDW in support of California’s working families. Assemblymembers Luis Alejo Wesley Chesbro Bonnie Lowenthal Tom Ammiano Roger Dickinson Holly Mitchell Toni Atkins Susan Eggman Kevin Mullin Richard Bloom Paul Fong Adrin Nazarian Bob Blumenfield Jim Frazier Richard Pan Susan Bonilla Cristina Garcia John Pérez Rob Bonta Mike Gatto Nancy Skinner Steven Bradford Jimmy Gomez Mark Stone Cheryl Brown Richard Gordon Philip Ting Joan Buchanan Roger Hernández Shirley Weber Nora Campos Reginald Jones-Sawyer Bob Wieckowski Ed Chau Marc Levine Das Williams Senators Jim Beall Noreen Evans Mark Leno Marty Block Cathleen Galgiani Carol Liu Ron Calderon Loni Hancock Bill Monning Ellen M. Corbett Ed Hernandez Alex Padilla Kevin de León Jerry Hill Darrell Steinberg Mark DeSaulnier Ben Hueso Roderick Wright Hannah Beth Jackson Ricardo Lara “Thank you for voting to make life better for hundreds of thousands of homecare workers, senior citizens, and people with disabilities. Your leadership matters.” Doug Moore UDW Executive Director A Message from UDW Caregivers We’re all in this together The baby boomers aren’t babies anymore, and by the time the last ones turn 65, our senior population will have almost doubled. They’re calling it the “silver tsunami” and it’s the reason why homecare—in-home support for the elderly, the sick and people with disabilities—is the fastest growing industry in America. In California alone there are 372,000 homecare providers taking care of 448,000 people through the state’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program. Whether you are a provider or consumer or neither, chances are you know someone whose life is impacted by a need for quality, community- based care. With our community’s growing need comes legislative responsibility to put people first by investing in homecare. As members of United Domestic Workers (UDW)/AFSCME Local 3930, we are committed to taking care of our loved ones and neighbors. We created this document to hold our elected leaders accountable for the decisions they make to improve life for seniors, adults and children with disabilities, and all working families. In unity, Editha Adams Concepcion Gonzales Rosa Ramirez Allene Villa President Vice President, Kern Vice President, Riverside Agency Vice President, San Luis Obispo Lientuong Rose Nguyen Josefina Ochoa Blanca Quintero Astrid Zuniga Secretary-Treasurer Vice President, Merced Vice President, Riverside IP Vice President, Stanislaus Rosalina Flores Christine Nguyen Brooks Ashby Doug Moore Executive Vice President Vice President, Orange Vice President, San Diego UDW Executive Director Amy Day William Reed Elva Munoz Vice President, El Dorado Vice President, Placer Vice President, Santa Barbara Who We Are “This is the job that God gave me to do and I love doing it.” I named my daughter Rosie after my mom. When she was a toddler she was diagnosed with autism. Throughout her adolescence I have always pushed her to be the best she can be. She goes to a day program where she has the opportunity to earn money, learn life skills like how to ride the bus, and do arts and crafts while socializing with others. I have always been her champion and I always will be. When her services get cut, I fight for them to get restored. She and I have a really wonderful relationship. Six years ago my husband of 20 years passed away from pancreatic cancer leaving me and Rosie behind. You never think it’s going to be you being a single parent but I’m doing it and IHSS has helped me. I’m also self-employed with Mary Kay as an Independent Sales Director where I help others manage their businesses. I’m really a service person and I love helping people. I used to work with developmentally disabled people at a state hospital as a therapeutic recreational therapist and I also worked with homeless vets at the VA. What I did in those jobs has prepared me for what I’m doing now as Rosie’s caregiver. “My mom is my princess.” I was born in Puerto Rico but I have been in California since I was 14 years old. I have been an IHSS care provider for 20 years. I used to care for my sister, then non-family members, and now my mom, Andrea, for the last 10 years. I know that my mom is still alive today because I am able to care for her rather than having her in a facility. I have seven children from ages 19-31. My oldest three were in military and I’m a proud military mom. Raising seven children required that I work multiple jobs so I have been a property manager and a certified medical assistant at the hospital while also working as an IHSS care provider. I start working at 3am to dress my mom, feed her and take her to dialysis at 5am. I grocery shop while she’s at dialysis because there is no other time to do it in my week. If I didn’t have this job I don’t know how we would eat or pay rent. This job not only makes a difference to me financially but also to the quality of life my mom has. I get compliments on how cute she looks everywhere we go. She always matches a flower in her hair to whatever she’s wearing. She’s the princess of the house. The one-on-one care that IHSS allows is a blessing not just for me, but I’m sure for thousands of people. It allows our loved ones to have dignity. Our elders already did for us and it’s time for us to do for them. Having them in a home environment saves lives. This program is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. 2 UDW/AFSCME Local 3930 “I love caring for people.” Taking care of people has always been very important to me. I grew up in Compton and after I graduated from high school, I went to nursing school so that I could continue to care for people as a profession. As a nurse I didn’t feel like I had enough time for my patients and that was really difficult for me. I left nursing for homecare 20 years ago. I cared for my sister who passed away, for a lot of non-family members, and now for my 79-year-old dad. I maintain my nursing certifications so that I can provide the best quality of care to him. My dad and I have a close relationship and family is very important to us. I’m not happy until my family is happy! Every year we have a 500 person family reunion where we all get together to camp and reconnect. I like to keep him busy because it’s good for him so we take little trips to the mall for exercise and entertainment. Caring for him can be hard sometimes because he has a lot of dietary needs and he requires a lot of help to get around. When things start to feel hard I take a moment and come back to focus on doing what I love: caring for people. “Growing up my father provided whatever I needed. Now I try to return the favor.” I grew up in the projects of Santa Ana as the youngest of 8. I still live there but in a more middle class neighborhood. My whole family lives in the area and it’s really important for us to be close. We try to get together every Sunday for menudo and homemade tortillas. My time is kind of limited but when I have time I like to go to the movies and the park. I also like working out and fishing. I have been a provider since 2000 when I was taking care of my mom. After my mom passed away I started taking care of my dad who is now 91 years old. He loves reading and listening to classic Spanish music. He also really likes going on trips so we try to do some traveling together. He was a farmworker in Northern California and one time we took a trip up there so he could show us the places he used to work. Soon we’re planning on taking a train trip down the coast because he loves trains. Whatever he wants, I try to get it for him or take him places he wants to go. I was always really close with my dad and being his caregiver has made us even closer. I get mad that politicians think it’s not a job. It’s a hard job and we are underpaid and don’t get any benefits. We’re always under attack. We’re the first ones the governor wants to cut in half. I would like them to become a provider for a day. UDW/AFSCME Local 3930 3 UDW Priority Legislation Raising Wages for Working Families Assembly Bill 10 (Alejo) – Minimum Wage: annual adjustment This bill will increase the state minimum wage to $9 per hour on July 1, 2014, and will further increase the minimum wage to $10 per hour on January 1, 2016. Currently, the state minimum wage stands at $8 per hour. This wage is grossly inadequate to support a family in California. Increasing the minimum wage is an important step toward the goal of reducing poverty and improving the quality of life for working families. This bill will benefit tens of thousands of hardworking IHSS providers who are currently paid less than $10 per hour.