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BOSTON (State House News Service) — Starting this week, 58,000 home care workers will have an extra dollar per hour tacked on to their wages, the first of several increases that are the culmination of months of negotiation with the Healey administration.
The Personal Care Attendant Workforce Council voted last week to approve a three-year contract for personal care attendants from 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, which includes a pathway to wages of $25 per hour for some attendants by 2026.
The contract also includes wage differential for PCAs who care for individuals with complex health care needs, retirement savings accounts, paid professional development opportunities, two new holidays, privacy protections, and increased flexibility to cash out paid time off benefits, according to the union.
The agreement comes three months after the health care workers' last contract with the state expired on June 30. Under that contract, PCAs made $18 an hour, though they said Gov. Maura Healey had told them on the campaign trail that home health workers deserved to be making at least $25 per hour.
"Gov. Healey said $25 an hour. When she was running for office, she came to 1199SEIU and wanted support and said she was going to get us $25. Now she's in office, and now we want our money," PCA Mikey Myles said in July.
The home health workforce is mainly made up of women and people of color, many of whom are immigrants and don't speak English as a first language. It is one of the fastest growing jobs in the country, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"I grew up watching my mom care for seniors in their homes, and I have a deep appreciation for the important work that personal care attendants do," Healey said about the contract agreement. "Our administration is proud to reach this historic agreement that provides fair pay and benefits for PCAs that reflect the heroic contributions they make to Massachusetts families."
Since 2008 when PCAs joined the union through the end of their new three-year contract, the home care workers have experienced a 131 percent increase in wages, according to SEIU.
Written by Sam Drysdale/SHNS
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