Mike Truppa, cell (312) 296-1956, mike.truppa@seiuhcil.org

Child Care Providers and Parents Applaud State Emergency Funding, But Vow to Fight Deep Cuts in Next Year’s Budget

SEIU’s Child Care Providers and Parents Mobilized On Massive Scale to Win Emergency Funding After State Said It Ran Out of Money to Pay Providers Until July 1^st

(May 18, 2012, Springfield, IL) – Illinois took a crucial first step toward preventing a surge in unemployment Friday when legislators passed a supplemental spending bill to plug a $73 million shortage in funding for child care providers around the state. But SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Indiana, which represents over 35,000 home-based child care providers, warned that working parents continue to face threats to their job security unless lawmakers restore $85 million in cuts to child care funding included in Gov. Pat Quinn’s FY 2013 budget.

Child care providers and parents called such budget cuts “completely unacceptable” and said that slashing vital assistance would devastate working parents, especially single moms who are trying to go to school and work to support their families.

“We applaud lawmakers for sparing child care providers and the parents who rely on these vital programs from a potentially crippling three-month delay in payments this year,” said Keith Kelleher, President of SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Indiana.  “We must fully fund the child care system in Illinois and keep working families on the job and in school where they can contribute to our economic growth.”

The state’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) supports more than 85,000 working families and 160,000 children.  CCAP is intended to promote employment in Illinois by providing working families with resources that they need to hold down a job or finish school.   If the state cuts CCAP, it will fuel joblessness among people who are willing and able to work.

“Working parents can breathe a sigh of relief that their child care providers won’t immediately shutdown.  But we must be vigilant because our programs are still at risk of being slashed in the Governor’s budget,” said Annie Yarbary, a home-based child care provider in Decatur. “These cuts could result in working parents, and especially single moms, being unable to go back to school and who are desperately trying to improve their lives.  This is why we are fighting for those without a voice. ”

“Our state should not be slashing early education programs for our children that teach and empower them for future success.  It’s not right, and it’s not fair,” said Angela Bradley, a child care provider in Danville.  “Our state has a revenue crisis and our children are being hurt because corporations and the rich in Illinois don’t pay their fair share of the tax burden to invest in our children’s future.”

Providers said that state cutbacks are also incredibly shortsighted.  Child care programs help parents work, contribute to the economy, and are key investments in children’s education.  These investments save taxpayers money by reducing special education, remediation and juvenile justice costs in the long term.

“Cutting child care assistance will devastate the parents and the children of Illinois, and cost the taxpayers more money in the long run,” said Faith Arnold, a child care provider in Bellwood, outside of Chicago.  “Times are already hard for the families that we care for and support – they have few choices as it is. Our politicians are neglecting their responsibilities when they refuse to tax the rich in order to fund child care programs that will give children early learning opportunities to strengthen their education.”

SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana unites more than 91,000 healthcare, home care, nursing home and child care workers across two states in the fight to raise standards across industries, to strengthen the political voice for working families and for access to quality, affordable care for all families.

“Working parents can breathe a sigh of relief that their child care providers won’t immediately shut down, said Annie Yarbary, a home child care provider in Decatur.

Providers and parents brought their kids to Springfield to show our lawmakers the faces of those who would be affected by budget cuts.

Still, the fight isn’t over.

“We must be vigilant because our programs are still at risk of being slashed in the Governor’s budget,” Annie said. “These cuts could result in working parents, and especially single moms, being unable to go back to school and who are desperately trying to improve their lives. This is why we are fighting for those without a voice. ”

At a lobby day earlier this week, more than 1,200 of us took more than 12,000 postcards from Illinois residents from all walks of life, calling on our legislature to stop devastating cuts to the home care, child care, and community hospitals our communities rely on. Our quick action has averted this immediate crisis, but we’ll have to stay strong to fight off budget cuts as the year goes on.

“Cutting child care assistance will devastate the parents and the children of Illinois, and cost the taxpayers more money in the long run,” said Faith Arnold, a child care provider in Bellwood, outside of Chicago. “Times are already hard for the families that we care for and support – they have few choices as it is. Our politicians are neglecting their responsibilities when they refuse to tax the rich in order to fund child care programs that will give children early learning opportunities to strengthen their education.”

Member leaders called on our legislature to pass a fair tax.

“Each and every one of us got on a bus early this morning to come here and make sure our voices are heard.  Our presence here today reaffirms our values – doing what’s right for seniors, people with disabilities, kids and working parents, providing quality care for the people of Illinois, and fighting for fairness in our communities,” said child care provider Faith Davis.

In recent weeks, child care providers have been fighting an immediate budget shortfall that could leave them without pay till June, threatening to shut down the Illinois child care system that working parents depend on. But proposed cuts to next year’s budget would affect our entire membership, with cuts to home care, Medicare, and Medicaid putting thousands of people who use home care, nursing homes, and community hospitals in danger.

“I’ve worked at Mt. Sinai for 13 years and have been a patient for 25 years.  If these budget cuts go through, it will be drastic for our community. Our state doesn’t have a spending problem, it has a revenue problem,” said Sansaree Brinson, a Chicago hospital worker. Throughout the day, members called on legislators to support a fair tax system in Illinois that puts community resources before tax breaks for rich corporations.

See our members in action:

Home care workers and consumers in Springfield on Wednesday

This week in six cities across the state, people with disabilities, home care workers, and disability rights advocates united to denounce proposed cuts to home care services.  In Springfield, Rockford, Marion, Peoria, Chicago, and East St. Louis workers and consumers held protests outside of state offices, DRS offices, and at the Thompson Center in Chicago calling on Governor Quinn to stop cuts to home care and invest in good jobs for home care workers.  Activists collected signatures on letters that were faxed to Governor Quinn and brandished signs reminding onlookers that ‘there’s no place like home.’

As we head into Mother’s Day weekend, mothers who rely on home care like Pat Whitman in Rockford also took the opportunity to speak out about the fact that home care services allow her to remain living in her home, surrounded by family and

East St. Louis

loved ones.  “My home care worker allows me to stay in my community and with my family, where I want to be.  Cuts to home care services would not only end the independence I enjoy right now, but would also cut me off from my children because I’d be forced into institutional care.  These cuts are wrong for Illinois – the services people like me receive are critical to our lives,” Whitman said.

Rockford home care worker Heather Lindstrom also shared her perspective as a mother who relies on her job through the Home ServicesProgram to support her family.  “My consumer relies on me for a lot and I take pride in the quality care I provide for her.  It’s getting harder and harder to get her everything she needs in the hours I’m allowed to work and talk about cuts would mean her hours would be slashed even further, and she won’t get the care she needs.  It would also make it much harder for me to support my family with even lower take home pay,” said Lindstrom.  “We need to invest in quality home care services and jobs.”

Check out the video below from the action at the JR Thompson Center in Chicago:

35 shareholders attended the meeting and voiced opposition to corporate leaders, before being escorted out.  Mic checks, testimonials, and poignant questions from unhappy shareholders were too much for the corporate leaders who like business as usual like CEO Michael Chesser, who raked in $11.9 million during 2008-2010.

EVS Technician Ed Hayes, an HCII member from Menorah Medical Center, was one of the shareholders who attended the meeting on Tuesday and described his participation as, “a really positive experience.”

“Actions like the one at Great Plains Energy is exactly how we get this message out to the public,” said Hayes.  “Corporations that are dodging taxes need to be held accountable and standing up and speaking out is how we do that.  We brought our message to their front door when we attended the shareholder meeting and they had to hear us.”

Expelled shareholders were greeted by a banner drop, signs highlighting facts like how many teachers that could have been hired if Great Plains paid their fair share, and chants of “Corporate taxes must be paid, people’s lives are not for trade!”

Across the state in St. Louis, the 99% also put Peabody Coal on notice at their annual shareholder meeting the same day.  Check out some of the press clips below from both actions:

MSNBC: Protests Target KCPL Shareholders Meeting

FOX TV 4: Occupy Protestors Say They’re Not Done Fighting

Kansas City Star: May Day Protesters, shareholders complain to KCP&L Execs

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Occupy protesters target Peabody shareholder meeting in St. Louis

St. Louis Business Journal: Slideshow: 150 protest at Peabody Energy shareholders meeting

Parents and child care providers across the state hit the ground running after Wednesday’s announcement that a $73 million shortfall in the Illinois budget could leave providers without pay until July– on top of a proposed $85 million cut to the Child Care Assistance Program in FY13– creating a crisis for parents, children and providers.

Parents and child care providers are uniting to protect the child care Illinois depends on.

“There’s no way I can pay my mortgage if we can’t stop these cuts—the bank doesn’t want to hear that the state can’t pay me,” said Victoria Williams, a home child care provider on Chicago’s South Side. “If I have to close down, parents are going to lose their jobs, because other daycare centers won’t be accepting new kids knowing that they won’t be able to support them.”

“It’s up to us as parents and providers to make sure our lawmakers understand just how devastating this is to all of us,” Vanessa said.

Watch Vanessa’s story, which appeared on Fox’s 12 o’ clock news the day after the state announced the shortfall. Several other news outlets around the state have approached providers and parents to learn how Illinois residents will suffer from this budget disaster.

Home child care provider Pamela Franks is holding a meeting for parents and providers at her home in Springfield to involve working families in the fight to protect the Child Care Assistance Program.

“I’ve been a child care provider for seventeen years, I’m a single mom, and I rely solely on child care payments for my income. Since I got this announcement from the state yesterday, I’m worrying not just about how I’m going to feed my own kids and keep my lights on, but about the five families I care for who are going to suffer because they’ll lose their jobs if I can’t keep going,” Pamela said.

“I just started calling and emailing newspapers with my story because we’ve got to make lawmakers see the ripple effect this crisis could have on the state,” Pamela said.

More than 35,000 child care providers could be put out of business by this funding shortage, leaving more than 85,000 working parents out of options for childcare when they need to get to work. On May 15, we’re rallying in Springfield to stand up for the thousands of Illinois families who will be devastated by these cuts.

Sign up now to join us in Springfield as we fight to stand up for kids, parents, and providers.

Home care workers and consumers are fighting back proposed cuts to maintain access to quality home care.

This week hundreds of home care workers, seniors, and people with disabilities took to the Capitol to fight back proposed cuts to home care funding.  Supporters rode buses in from around the state and kicked off the day with a rally outside the statehouse, before heading in to talk with lawmakers face to face about the devastating effects the proposed cuts would have on seniors and people with disabilities who count on home care workers to help them continue living independently at home.

Governor Quinn has proposed $150 million in service and eligibility cuts to the Community Care Program that seniors rely on.  These cuts would impact up to 8,000 new seniors that will not be able to access the program and would mean fewer hours of care for seniors who are already enrolled.

In addition, the Governor’s proposed budget includes huge cuts to the DHS-DRS Home Services Program that provides access to home care services for people with disabilities in Illinois.  The proposed $60.5 million in service and eligibility cuts would kick thousands of people with disabilities out of the program, prevent thousands from entering and receiving the services they need, and drastically reduce services for over 14,000 consumers.

Click here to check out home care worker Gail Hamilton’s remarks on News Channel 20 in Springfield.

CNH Teacher Geraldine Robinson

“Now that we’re together, we’ll have a say over things like breaks, meals, supplies, and vacation time. Our center is going to grow and shine!” said teacher Geraldine Robinson.

Our Statewide Bargaining Committee

We decided our top priorities for this contract were:

• Protect our jobs and quality care for our consumers
• Improve our wages
• Protect our healthcare and training funds

It’s also important to fight back against Medicaid cuts in DC, create a fair tax system in Illinois so that home care is properly funded, and to support people with disabilities living in our communities.  There’s a lot at stake and protecting what we’ve already fought hard to win will be a challenge in itself, but winning a strong contract is paramount to the continuation of quality care for our consumers.

Our last two contracts showed the strength we have when we stick together; we achieved incredible gains like significant raises, access to healthcare for the first time ever, and funds for a training program that helps us deliver better quality care to our consumers.

But this fight is unlike any other we’ve faced and it’s going to take all of us and our consumers to win.  We’re up against our state’s struggling economy and greedy corporations that want more tax breaks on the backs of working families.  That’s why PAs and consumers are stepping up around the state and taking action to protect our program and make sure the rich pay their fair share so Personal Assistants and consumers aren’t punished with devastating budget cuts.

Home Care before Corporate Welfare!

“We are tired of handouts to greedy banks and corporations that wrecked our economy coming before quality home care in Illinois.  This fight is bigger than a strong contract; it’s about changing our state’s priorities,” said Sharon Walker, a Personal Assistant in Chicago.

Recently, thousands of PAs got on an important call with home care workers across the state to share ideas and questions about our fight ahead to stop budget cuts.  Over 3,000 of us committed to taking action during this interactive conversation.  Then, hundreds of consumers and PAs converged in Springfield to lobby our lawmakers and rally in support of home care funding protection.

In communities across the state, members are also meeting locally with our lawmakers to make the case for the vital

'Walk a Day in Our Shoes' - State Senate Candidate Steve Stadelman, Personal Assistant Katrina Nathans, and consumer Mildred Davis

services we provide.  In Springfield, Carbondale, Rockford, and Metro East, Personal Assistants and consumers invited local lawmakers and candidates to ‘walk a day in our shoes.’  Our senators, representatives, and political candidates heard firsthand why the home care program must be protected and the impact that cuts would have on our communities.  Members are also taking our message to the public by holding press conferences and joining actions to call on the richest of the rich to pay their fair share so the state can continue investment in vital human service programs like home care.

This fight is far from over and we need everyone to get involved if we’re going to win!  Call the SEIU Member Resource Center at 866-933-7348 to learn how you can make your voice heard!

Hundreds of Personal Assistants and Consumers Turned Out for Lobby Day Feb. 28

Our members flew south to join other civil rights leaders, union members, and activists in commemorating the anniversary of the 1965 Bloody Sunday march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, which resulted in the passage of the Voting Rights Act. This time around, we marched in protest of HB 56, Alabama’s racist, restrictive, and regressive immigration law, widely regarded as the strictest in the country to date.

“My grandmother went to one of the first schools to be desegregated in the South,” said Clarice Evans, a hospital worker in Chicago. “They were afraid, but they kept going to school every day. I thank God that I didn’t have to go through it, but I’m glad I was able to do something for the kids that are scared to go to school now because of this racist law.”

In addition to allowing police to racially profile anyone they suspect of being undocumented, requiring them to carry their immigration papers with them at all times, one section of HB56 requires that schools check the immigration status of their students. The Monday after HB56 was passed, the percent increase in Latino children absent from school shot up 80 per cent.

Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson marched with members from Selma to Montgomery.

Members marched upwards of ten miles per day, shoulder-to-shoulder with civil rights giants like Dick Gregory, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Child care provider Freddie Davis, 71, inspired other marchers with her presence alone.

“Yes, I kept up,” Freddie said. “To meet Dick Gregory and other leaders and get an autograph from the 100-year-old woman who was in the original 1965 march was an experience I’ll never forget.”

Watch our members’ moving account of our trip.

Back in Chicago, members marched on Fletcher Jones Honda on Clark Street to support a repeal of HB56. Honda, one of the biggest employers and investors in Alabama, relies on Latinos to purchase their products, but have remained silent about this anti-immigrant law.

Along with more than 75 members and supporters, Arise Chicago director Rev. CJ Hawking invoked the memory of the 1965 marches as well as giving a shoutout to our members in Selma before we set off to protest.

“Honda decided to build a plant in Alabama, and it has remained silent about house bill 56. They need to come out by tomorrow, when our folks reach Montgomery, and they need to tell people that house bill 56 needs to be repealed,” she said.

See our members speak out at Fletcher Jones Honda: