Can Caring Across Generations Change the World?
By Laura Flanders in The Nation.
Looking Out for Homecare Workers, Looking Out for Our Future
Published by NDWA Director Ai-jen Poo in the Huffington Post
It used to be that the things you could count on in life were birth, death and taxes. To that list, most of us can add relying upon others in our later years. While we all would like to see ourselves staying as healthy as possible and aging gracefully, even actively, in truth, 70 percent of those who reach the age of 65 (and eight Americans hit that milestone per minute) will need some form of care or support services.
Seattle launches Caring Across Generations campaign to bring attention to the care crisis
As the nation’s population ages – an American turns 65 every 8 seconds – more families are turning to paid caregivers and taking on caregiving responsibilities themselves.
Boosting Pay for Care Workers
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis was on NPR yesterday, discussing the new proposed rules for home care workers. From the transcripts:
Secretary Solis: I definitely see many women who have not been paid adequately who had to subsidize their income through public welfare programs, food stamp programs and through other means. And we should be taking a close look at this over the next few years. Not just this year, as we propose the rules but as we move towards the baby-boomer population living longer and choosing to live at home.
Winning Basic Care for Caregivers
By Laura Flanders in The Nation
... Whatever happens electorally next year, OWS will have played some part in it, but if OWS gets written into the media accounts it’ll be a victory in itself, because generally the money media cover change as if it’s a mysterious process in which pretty much only presidents deserve real credit, not movements. Its no wonder regular Americans have a rather skewed picture of history, politics and our potential part in any of it.
Advocates for New Labor Law Rules Speak Out
By Mary Silver, in The Epoch Times
In-home care advocates do not want the changes to be adversarial. “There is not a ‘we’ and a ‘they’ between caregivers and care providers,” said Robin Shaffert, policy consultant for Caring Across Generations, and member of Hand In Hand: The Domestic Employers Association. “You have to think about how much love there is in this relationship.”
Interview with Caregiver Thelma Reta
Why do you like/love cargiving? (What do you like about it?)
Part of my traits is that I am by nature a compassionate person. I always imagine that the person I’m taking care of is one who is close to me like my mother or father. And then I provide the kind of care I would want them to have.
I especially enjoy making a connection with my consumers. I provided care for one woman who loved dancing and loved horses. And it happens that I love Dancing with the Stars and animals of all kinds. So we shared great conversations. That brightened both of our days.
Protections for In-Home Care Workers
By Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. Originally published on (Work in Progress), the Department of Labor blog.
Honoring Evelyn Coke
We're re-posting this blog post that Caring Across Generations leader Ellen Bravo wrote about Evelyn Coke, who took a case to the Supreme Court to demand fair wages for home care workers, after she died in 2009.
Originally posted at the Women's Media Center, August 14, 2009.
By Ellen Bravo
She fought all the way to the Supreme Court to win justice for home care workers. Now we must honor her by advancing her cause.
Coverage of Thursday's DOL Announcement
The New York Times, USA Today and Marketplace all covered Thursday's announcement of new regulations for fair pay.
From the New York Times:
Labor unions and advocates for low-wage workers have pushed for the changes, contending that the 37-year-old exemption improperly swept these workers, who care for many elderly and disabled Americans, into the same “companion” category as baby sitters. The administration’s move calls for home care aides to be protected under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the nation’s main wage and hour law.