This paper chronicles the SEIU's efforts to organize home care workers in California, Oregon, Washington, and New York. Drawing on inter views with union leaders and organizers as well as secondary source data, I compare the political strategies employed and the outcomes achieved in these states. Across the cases, the SEIU changed its orga nizing strategy to adapt to the unique environmental characteristics of each state. Despite the anti-union animus of federal labor law, the labor movement can still achieve important organizing successes, albeit at great expense in time and resources. Employees of private-sector companies that rely primarily on taxpayer funds may prove to be fertile sources of new union members, and unions with a track record of success in both the public and private sectors may be best positioned to stem the long-term decline in American union density.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Alvarez, Fred.2004. Caregivers get raise, benefits. Los Angeles Times, November 28.
2.
Ashforth, Blake E., and Barrie W. Gibbs .1990. The double edge of organizational legitimation. Organization Science1:177-194.
3.
Associated Press State & Local Wire.2002 . Mayor signs living wage bill. November 27.
4.
Atkins, Judy, and David Cohen.2003-4. A proposal for a twenty-first-century trade union education league: An attempt to solve the crisis of organizing the unorganized. Working USA7, no. 3:44-61.
5.
Barnett, Erin Hoover.2000. Caregivers' measure on ballot. Oregonian, July 22.
6.
Benjamin, A.E., Ruth E. Matthias, and Todd M. Franke.2000. Comparing consumer-directed and agency models for providing supportive services at home. Health Services Research35:351-366.
7.
Boyles, Denny.2004. Budget crisis hits home care workers: They want a pay raise, but county officials say they cannot afford it. Fresno Bee, February 16.
8.
Bronfenbrenner, Kate.2003. The American labour movement and the resurgence in union organizing. In Trade unions in renewal: A comparative study , edited by Peter Fairbrother and Charlotte A.B. Yates.London: Continuum.
9.
Bureau of Labor Statistics.2005a. Union members in 2004. Available at www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm (accessed December 6, 2005).
10.
Bureau of Labor Statistics.2005b. May 2004 state cross-industry estimates. Available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_dl.htm (accessed December 6, 2005).
11.
Chaison, Gary, and Barbara Bigelow .2002. Unions and legitimacy. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press/Cornell University Press.
12.
Chang, Tracey F.H., and Douglas E. Thompkins .2002. Corporations go to prisons: The expansion of corporate power in the correctional industry. Labor Studies Journal27:45-69.
13.
Cobble, Dorothy S.2001. Lost way of unionism: Historical perspective on reinventing the labor movement. In Rekindling the movement: Labor's quest for relevance in the twenty-first century, edited by Lowell Turner, Harry C. Katz, and Richard W. Hurd.Ithaca, NY: ILR Press /Cornell University Press.
14.
Cook, Rebecca.2001. I-775 would regulate home care for elderly, disabled. Associated Press State and Local Wire, November 7.
15.
Croft, Howard.2004. Telephone interview with author. December 3.
16.
Daily News. 2005. Feeding frenzy at Albany trough . February 14.
17.
De-Ortiz, Carol M.1993. The politics of home care for the elderly poor: New York City's Medicaid-funded home attendant program. Medical Anthropology Quarterly7:4-29.
18.
Dewan, Shaila.2002. Health bill leaves out many home care aides. New York Times, April 21.
19.
Donovan, Rebecca, Paul A. Kurzman, and Carol Rotman.1993. Improving the lives of home care workers: A partnership of social work and labor. Social Work38:579-585.
20.
Doty, Pamela, A.E. Benjamin, Ruth E. Matthias, and Todd M. Franke.1999. In-home supportive services for the elderly and disabled: A comparison of client-directed and professional management models of service delivery, non-technical summary report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
21.
DuBois, Stephen.2000. Ballot Measure 99 leaves many unanswered questions. Associated Press State & Local Wire, September 22.
22.
Fine, Janice.2001. Community unionism in Stamford and Baltimore: Beyond the politics of particularism. Working USA4, no. 3:59-85.
23.
Finnegan, Kevin.2005. Telephone interview with author. July 27.
24.
Fox, Anita.2004. Interview with author, Portland, OR . December 15.
25.
Gledhill, Lynda.2004. In-home care funding battle: Governor wants feds to pay for it, or he will scrap program. San Francisco Chronicle , April 23.
26.
Glickman, Adam.2004. Interview with author, Seattle, WA. December 16.
27.
Greenhouse, Steven.2002. Council votes to raise pay for 50000 in health care. New York Times, November 8.
28.
Hammond, William F., Jr. 2003a. Rivera's ATM at Albany. New York Sun, September 22.
29.
Hammond, William F., Jr. 2003b. Rivera wins again. New York Sun, May 1.
30.
Health Resources and Services Administration. 2004. Nursing aides, home health aides, and related health care occupations—National and local workforce shortages and associated data needs. Washington, DC: Health Resources and Services Administration.
31.
Heinritz-Canterbury, Janet.2005. Telephone interview with author. July 28.
32.
Herdt, Timm.2004. Caregivers get a reprieve. Ventura County Star, April 24.
33.
Hogan, Dave.2001. In-home care workers vote for union backing. Oregonian, December 16.
34.
Home Care Quality Authority. n.d. About home care quality authority. Available at www.hcqa.wa.gov/aboutHCQA/default.htm (accessed December 6, 2005).
35.
Hoover, Gary A., and James Peoples.2003. Privatization of refuse removal and labor costs. Journal of Labor Research24:293-305.
36.
Hosaka, Tomoko.2000. Initiative seeks to improve in-home care: The demand for caregivers has jumped, but many leave the field due to long hours and low pay. Oregonian, June 22.
37.
Howland, George Jr. 2003. Politics: A labor of shove. Seattle Weekly, May 21.
38.
Hu, Winnie, and James C. McKinley , Jr. 2003. Health workers, 2002Pataki allies, jam into Albany to denounce his cuts. New York Times, April 2.
39.
Humbert, Marc.2002. Labor leader Rivera becomes the "guy to see." Associated Press State & Local Wire, January 16.
40.
Jacoby, Tamar.2002. Hola - Latinos join with labor unions to win it for Pataki . New York Sun, November 6.
41.
Jordan, Phil.2001. Voters approve Initiative 775: Users of personal assistance mobilize to protect their rights. Available at http://www.wpas-rights.org/Envoy_Online/Envoy%20Archives/wpasopposes_initiative_775.htm (accessed December 7, 2005).
42.
Kearney, Richard C.2003. Patterns of union decline and growth: An organizational ecology perspective. Journal of Labor Research24:561-578.
43.
Labor Research Association.2002. 13,000 home care workers in Oregon vote overwhelmingly to join SEIU: Union election was largest in state's history. Available at www.laborresearch.org/print.php?id=87 (accessed December 6, 2005).
44.
Legislative Analyst's Office.2005. Analysis of the 2005-06 budget bill: In-home supportive services. Available at www.lao.ca.gov/analysis_2005/Health_ss/hss_13_ihss_an105.htm (accessed December 6, 2005).
45.
Masters, Marick F.1998. Unions at the crossroads. Working USA (January-February): 10-23.
46.
McAdam, Doug.1983. Tactical innovation and the pace of insurgency. American Sociological Review48:735-754.
47.
McKinley, James C., Jr. 2002. Before bills move in Albany, 3 leaders cut deals in. New York Times, October 21.
48.
Meyers, Michelle.2004. Independent living participants fear cuts: Governor proposes to slash state's in-home care supportive services program by a third. Oakland Tribune, April 6.
49.
Murphy, William.2004. Newcomers vie for Albany. Newsday, October 18.
50.
Morehouse, Sarah M., and Malcolm E. Jewell .2004. States as laboratories: A reprise. Annual Review of Political Science7:177-203.
51.
Nagourney, Adam.2002. Union crosses party lines for Pataki. New York Times, March 20.
52.
Ness, Immanuel.1999. Organizing home health care workers: A New York City case study. Working USA3, no. 4:59-95.
53.
New York Association of Health Care Providers.2004. What is home care? Available at www.nyshcp.org/abouchome_care_prnt.shtml (accessed December 6, 2005).
54.
Nissen, Bruce.2003. Alternative strategic directions for the U.S. labor movement: Recent scholarship. Labor Studies Journal28:133-155.
55.
Osterman, Rachel.2005. Home-care standoff. Sacramento Bee, January 20.
56.
Ostrom, Carol M.2001a. Initiative aims to regulate home care: Advocates turn in 300,000 signatures. Seattle Times, July 4.
57.
Ostrom, Carol M.2001b. I-775: A solution or problem? Home-care workers could bargain. Seattle Times, October 29.
58.
Otero, Elsie.2005. Telephone interview with author. July 12.
59.
Rolf, David.2004. Telephone interview with author. November 8.
60.
Schienberg, Jonathan.2004. At home in health care work. Newsday, August 18.
61.
Selvin, Molly.2005. Unions resolve fight over caregivers. Los Angeles Times, September 20.
62.
Service Employees International Union.2003 . First collective bargaining agreement between the home care commission and the home care workers union, Service Employees International Union Local503. Salem, OR: SEIU Local503.
63.
Service Employees International Union.2004 . California: A case study. Available at http://www.seiu.org/longterm/home_care/quality_home_care_council/ca_casestudy.cfm (accessed December 7, 2005).
64.
Sheehan, Tim.2005. Cities and counties brace for cuts. Fresno Bee, January 16.
65.
Siegle, Lisa.2004. Interview with author, Salem, OR. December 14.
66.
Sisson, Mary.2002. Home aides make headway with belated union assist. Crain's New York Business, December 2.
67.
Smith, Peggie B.2000. Organizing the unorganizable: Private paid household workers and approaches to employee representation. North Carolina Law Review79:45-110.
68.
Takahashi, Beverly.2003-4. Home care organizing in California. Working USA7:62-87.
69.
Thomas, Ralph.2004. Home-care union blended force, finesse to win gains. Seattle Times, March 22.
70.
Towers, Arthur.2004. Interview with author, Portland, OR . December 15.
71.
Turner, Lowell, and Richard W. Hurd .2001. Building social movement unionism: The transformation of the American labor movement. In Rekindling the movement: Labor's quest for relevance in the twenty-first century , edited by Lowell Turner, Harry C. Katz, and Richard W. Hurd.Ithaca, NY: ILR Press/Cornell University Press.
72.
United Domestic Workers.2005a. About UDW. Available at http://www.udwa.org/abt_udw.htm (accessed December 6, 2005).
73.
United Domestic Workers.2005b. Your county—news & resources. Available at http://udwa.org/county.htm (accessed December 6, 2005).
74.
Voss, Kim, and Rachel Sherman.2000. Breaking the iron law of oligarchy: Union revitalization in the American labor movement. American Journal of Sociology106:303-349.
75.
Wall, Suzanne.2004. Interview with author, Seattle, WA. December 16.
76.
Walsh, Jess.2001. Creating unions, creating employers: A Los Angeles home-care campaign. In Care work: The quest for security, edited by Mary Daly. Geneva: International Labour Office.
77.
Washington Research Council.2001. Initiative 775: Wrong road to quality care. Seattle: Washington Research Council.
78.
Wells, Miriam J.2002. When urban policy becomes labor policy: State structures, local initiatives, and union representation at the turn of the century. Theory and Society31:115-146.
79.
Williams, Fred O.2002. Health-care workers expected to merge union locals. Buffalo News. November 23.
80.
Witko, Christopher, and Adam J. Newmark .2005. Business mobilization and public policy in the U.S. States. Social Science Quarterly86:356-367.
81.
Zullo, Roland.2002. Confronting the wicked witch and exposing the wizard: Public-sector unions and privatization policy. Working USA6, no. 2:9-39.
