ORGANIZING IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

ORGANIZING IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
By Mike Rhodes
Editor of the Community Alliance Magazine
http://www.fresnoalliance.com/home

Madera is a small county in the middle of the Central Valley with chronic double digit unemployment and massive poverty. But now, homecare workers are organizing to improve their lives. The workers, there are currently over 1,000 of them, receive minimum wage and no benefits. Service Employee International Union Local 250 has been at the forefront of the struggle to bring better wages and benefits for homecare workers in Madera and throughout the State of California. Unionized homecare workers in San Francisco, Yolo, Contra Costa, and Sacramento earn at least $9.50 an hour with benefits.

The union got hundreds of homecare workers to sign union cards and an election will be held in February, 2003. In Fresno county, which is just South of Madera, homecare workers voted in support of the union by 92%. The Fresno workers are currently negotiating their first contract.

DON’T BE MISLED BY A PHONEY ASSOCIATION

In recent weeks, a union busting “workers association” has been encouraging workers to resign from the union. SEIU 250 members say that the effort will weaken Madera county homecare workers chances to improve their working conditions. Madera homeccare worker Margarita Adame said “some people are asking us to resign from SEIU 250. The are purposefully trying to confuse and divide homecare workers, but we will not be fooled. Now’s the time for us all to unite in SEIU 250 and achieve what other SEIU 250 homecare workers already have - a wage increase and benefits.”

On Wednesday, January 22 the Fresno, Madera, Tulare, Kings Central Labor Council passed the following resolution:

WHEREAS SEIU Local 250 has been organizing Madera County Homecare Workers since June of 2000; and

WHEREAS SEIU Local 250 has been involved since that time in the process to set up an IHSS Public Authority as the Employer of Record; and

WHEREAS SEIU Local 250 filed a petition for election immediately after it became legal to do so; and

WHEREAS former SEIU Local 250 organizer Marc Scalzo has set up a “Madera Homecare Workers Association,” with himself as Secretary-Treasurer; and

WHEREAS Marc Scalzo has recruited Madera County Homecare worker members of SEIU Local 250 to his “Madera Homecare Workers Association” and induced them to resign from SEIU Local 250 using union-busting tactics; and

WHEREAS the “Madera Homecare Workers Association” has garnered signatures from 10% of the Madera County IHSS workers and has intervened in the IHSS election; and

WHEREAS these actions have resulted in confusion among Madera County IHSS workers and division between workers; and

WHEREAS, the “Madera Homecare Workers Association” is not affiliated with the AFL-CIO; and

WHEREAS union busting against one Fresno, Madera, Tulare, Kings union hurts all Unions in their efforts to defend workers;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Fresno, Madera, Tulare, Kings, Central Labor Council go on record condemning the efforts of the “Madera Homecare Workers Association” to organize against the interests of SEIU Local 250 members;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Fresno, Madera, Tulare, Kings Central Labor Council ask the “Madera Homecare Workers Association” to withdraw its petition to intervene in the Madera County IHSS election; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Fresno, Madera, Tulare, Kings Central Labor Council provide assistance to the organizing efforts of SEIU Local 250 in Madera County.