skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, September 30, 2023

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Educators preserve, shape future with 'ALT NEW COLLEGE'; NY appeals court denies delay for Trump civil fraud trial; Michigan coalition gets cash influx to improve childcare.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A House Committee begins its first hearing in the Biden impeachment inquiry, members of Congress talk about the looming budget deadline and energy officials testify about the Maui wildfires.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A small fire department in rural Indiana is determined not to fail new moms and babies, the growing election denial movement has caused voting districts to change procedures and autumn promises spectacular scenery along America's rural byways.

CT Caregivers Call on State Leaders for Better Working Conditions

play audio
Play

Monday, May 8, 2023   

Caregivers in Connecticut are calling on state officials for better conditions and higher pay.

They're seeking a $25 an hour minimum wage, paid time off, affordable healthcare, and a pension for retirement planning.

Chase Bolling is a Personal Care Attendant and member of 1199 Service Employees International Union Northeast.

Originally, he was a machinist, but became a PCA because it wasn't easy to juggle caregiving for his mother-in-law with his full time job.

Bolling said any improvements to caregiver's working conditions must begin with better funding.

"I think the foremost thing would be increasing our budget," said Bolling. "You know, nothing happens in this world without money and you kind of can't take any steps forward or any initiatives towards improving our conditions without first improving our pay, and providing access to benefits."

He added that better funding will be able to provide long-term job security.

Along with PCA's, unpaid family caregivers are facing similar challenges.

According to an AARP report, unpaid family caregivers across the U.S. provided care valued at $600 billion in 2021. That's a $130 billion increase over 2019.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, PCA's - like many of Connecticut's healthcare workers - were dealing with strained working conditions.

During the first few months of the pandemic, there was a shortage of personal protective equipment.

While many healthcare providers have fought for and seen changes in their working conditions, Deidre Murch - vice president and homecare director for SEIU 1199 Northeast - said it hasn't been the same for PCA's.

"What we see is that there are a lot of examples where PCA's have been treated, literally, as invisible," said Murch, "without any of the same recognition or support in wages and benefits as other healthcare providers have."

From here, Murch added that it's now up to state elected officials to take bold steps in uplifting this workforce out of poverty-inducing wages and lacking benefits.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
Michigan is among 20 states to receive a multiyear grant from the Pritzker Children's Initiative. (SneakyPeakPoints/peopleimages.com/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The coalition known as "Think Babies Michigan" has secured more than $36 million in funding to offer grants to child-care providers for infants and to…


Social Issues

play sound

Nearly 100 school board elections are coming up in Minnesota this fall, with some gaining attention because of the candidates who are running…

Social Issues

play sound

The so-called conservative "hostile takeover" of a small, progressive liberal arts college in Florida is seeing some resistance from former students …


Only 546 of the tenants in the the 5,563 eviction cases filed in Nebraska in the first half of 2023 were represented by legal counsel. (tab62/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

High rent prices are draining the budgets of many Nebraska renters, who are paying between 30% and 50% of their income on rent. In some parts of the …

Social Issues

play sound

As the federal government nears a shutdown over a budget impasse in Congress, Wisconsin offices that help low-income individuals worry they'll have …

Lewiston, Idaho, sits on the Snake River at the border with Washington. (Guy Sagi/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Indigenous leaders are traveling through the Northwest to highlight the plight of dwindling fish populations in the region. The All Our Relations …

Social Issues

play sound

Washington performs well in a new report scoring states' long-term care systems. The Evergreen State ranked second in AARP's Long-Term Services and …

Social Issues

play sound

A lack of housing options, mental-health challenges and a lack of connections and support have combined to drive an uptick in the number of foster …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021