About
We are Michigan Home Care Workers United
We, as home care workers, are an essential part of the United States’ long-term care system. We care for our communities’ seniors and people with disabilities, helping them live independently at home. In-home help also strengthens the workforce, as family members can go to their jobs knowing their loved ones are receiving the quality care they deserve.
Home care is the fastest-growing profession — one million home care jobs will be needed in the next decade — and home care is widely desired in Michigan. Seventy percent of voters have a favorable opinion of home care workers and the work we do for seniors, family members and people with disabilities. Due to the rising demand, these jobs must be family-sustaining union jobs with a livable wage that provides benefits like paid sick leave, respite care and training.
We call on elected officials and community leaders to support Senate Bills 790 and 791 — legislation that restores Michigan home care workers right to join a union and have a collective voice to advocate for better conditions in providing care. It’s time we had a solid caregiving infrastructure that creates good union home care jobs while making care accessible and affordable for families.
History of Home Care in Michigan
“We deserve to be respected, and my daughter deserves a voice.”
⎻ Karen Zavala, Muskegon home care worker
Pictured with her daughter, Sara Zavala
There are approximately 35,000 Home Help care workers across the state of Michigan. We are providing direct support to seniors, people with disabilities and other individuals needing help with their daily living. The assistance we give ranges from aiding with personal care tasks, such as bathing and dressing, to providing health-care-related services, such as blood pressure checks and administering medicine.
In 2004, we won the right to be considered public employees and eligible for collective bargaining. In 2007, we organized to form a union to have a voice on the job and advocate for our clients. Together in our union, we won a 55% wage increase, a voice in the Home Help program, access to training, and the first-ever registry to connect workers to clients who need care.
In 2012, those union rights were stripped away. Communities across Michigan are now suffering the consequences of that decision, with a shrinking workforce and higher demand than ever before for care services. Now we have the chance to bring workers, advocates, and the public together and work with our elected officials in Lansing to ensure we are treated with the professional respect and dignity we have earned, including higher standards for pay, benefits, training, respite care, and the freedom to unite in a union without interference.