Photo: Travelpix Ltd / Stone / Getty Images
BOSTON (State House News Service) — A state panel is expected to vote Tuesday on a new collective bargaining agreement that would adjust pay and expand benefits for nearly 60,000 personal care attendants across Massachusetts.
The new three-year contract that PCAs from 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and the Healey administration tentatively agreed on earlier this month includes a pathway to wages of $25 per hour and a new wage scale based on experience, 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. 1199SEIU said that PCAs ratified the contract overwhelmingly last week.
The Personal Care Attendant Workforce Council meets virtually Tuesday at 3 p.m. and its agenda includes only one line: "Move Immediately into Executive session to review and vote on Collective Bargaining Agreement." An 1199SEIU official said the agreement up for a vote Tuesday is the same agreement that covers about 59,000 PCAs in the Bay State.
PCAs help more than 35,000 older adults and people with disabilities live independently in their homes and communities, as opposed to a nursing home or other facility-based setting. The council said that the number of consumers and PCA providers in Massachusetts has more than doubled since it was formed in 2008. 1199SEIU said that the PCA workforce here is "comprised of majority women and people of color, and this contract centers equity and helps remove barriers for them to remain in the one of the fastest growing jobs in the country but one of the lowest paid."
Gov. Maura Healey, who controls three of the nine seats on the council, was among those who cheered the new contract terms when they were agreed to earlier this month.
"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 in a statement at the time. "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."
Written by Colin A. Young/SHNS
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App | TikTok