Mary Kay Henry is an Executive Vice President of the SEIU, the nation’s largest health care
union where she’s the head of the union’s Health Systems Division. The SEIU has been very active in health care generally, not least in their “alliance” with Wal-Mart and others on national reform. But there are other issues too that they care about. Here’s another issue that concerns her and probably given where we’re going we should all be concerned about them. What about fair share for the poorest care givers—home care aides?
Seventy-three-year-old Evelyn Coke worked for 20 years as a home care attendant for the elderly for sometimes as many as 24 hours a day, four days a week,. She occasionally even slept overnight at her clients’ homes so she could be there for them if they needed her. Unfortunately, because of the “companionship exemption” under the Fair Labor Standards Act, she rarely ever received overtime pay for the extended hours she put in. Today Evelyn stands alone as the sole plaintiff awaiting a Supreme Court decision. How the justices rule on Long Island Care at Home Ltd v. Coke might mean larger paychecks, overtime coverage, and ultimately a reduction in high turnover, which could go a long way to reducing shortages in one of the nation’s fastest growing occupations — home care workers.
As SEIU continues promoting new health care solutions, we must
remember the contributions of health care industry workers — especially
in the midst of a looming “care gap” and an aging elderly population
expected to grow 40% by 2030. This “care gap” is present in nursing
homes, assisted living facilities, and home and community-based care
across the country. As the number of elderly Americans increases
dramatically, the long-term care industry is not keeping pace. We are
barreling toward a crisis, and it is going to take some innovative
thinking and some radically different ways of doing things to avert
what could be a disaster for a generation of Baby Boomers who will all
too soon hit their “golden years.”
