California Childcare Workers Win Right to Unionize

Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed bill AB 378, a bill that will allow childcare workers who serve low income kids to bargain collectively with the state over some things like reimbursements rates and professional development. In a statement, Governor Newsom said, “These workers care for our kids, which is why we need to take care of them.”

And take care of them it will. It is supposed to mark a new starting point in the child care providers’ lives where they can finally start being empowered to do what they do best.

The signing of this bill marks a very momentous event that has been a really long time coming, having been in the works for several years now. In fact, several past legislatures vetoed similar bills, including Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown.  

AB 378 was introduced by Monique Limon, a democrat assembly member from Santa Barbara. Prior to the bill’s final vote, she said that it was a commitment to stabilize those who educate early learners and to stabilize “families who seek care for their families as they remain in the workforce.”

The bill is targeted towards specific childcare providers in the state who play a very important role in the community. The service they provide is fundamentally important in the physical and emotional development of the child, along with being trusted care providers that can take care of children while the parents work and build the economy of the region. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California co-sponsored the bill.

So why do child care workers want to unionize?
For many years now, the US government has been subsidizing childcare for some low-income households. This allows many households to have access to quality child care services for free or at very low costs. In California, these subsidies support the care of about 360,000 kids.

While this is a significant investment, those in the field who recognize how expensive childcare can be say this money isn’t anywhere near enough. And this is true for many reasons. For one thing, daycares and preschools are not always stand-alone establishments with dedicated round-the-clock staff. Sometimes, they are run almost entirely from one person’s home by someone who does it almost purely out of passion.

Tonia McMillian, a childcare provider, said, “Just as parents struggle to pay their own rent, so do providers struggle to pay rent and pay expenses that keep their doors open.” McMillian is licensed to care for 14 kids at her home in Bellflower. She has been doing this for over 25 years, and although she adores the kids and enjoys working with their families, the job is taking a toll on her. Plus, she gets no retirement benefits and no access to affordable healthcare. 

Another provider, Renaldo Sanders, believes the money will go a long way in helping her maintain her place of business, which also doubles as her home. She points out that  providers need to make sure that the mortgage gets paid on time, and the lights, gas and utilities also have to get paid before they can provide their services to the community.

The AB 378 bill recognizes this fact. Over half of early educators in California rely on public assistance to make ends meet. Additionally, home daycares make up about a third of all licensed child care facilities. They are a lot more affordable and generally take in more infants and toddlers. Parents are also more likely to find a slot for very young children in one of these facilities.

Sadly, low pay, subsidies cuts, and few benefits often forces many such businesses to close. It can be rather difficult to eke out a living in an economic landscape where it is difficult to keep the doors open, let alone save and invest and make more money through your business. When the providers can no longer afford to run their businesses, they are left with few other options than to shut down for good.

According to organizers, the AB 378 bill, now dubbed the Building a Better Early Care and Education Act, is over a decade in the making. However, the most important thing is that it is now finally here, and child care workers can finally have a bigger say in the running of their businesses. California now joins 11 other states where similar workers have the right to collectively bargain. Two of these states are New York and Minnesota.

Which group of workers can collectively bargain?
Bill AB 378 allows a very specific group of child care providers to collectively bargain. The group that this bill targets are family day care providers.

Family day care providers in California are defined as providers who educate and care for young children within a day care setup in their own homes, or at the home of the children they are taking care of. These providers must be licensed and receive money from the state to provide this service to low income families.

According to assembly member and author of AB 378 Monique Limon, this adds up to 40,000 child care workers throughout the state. And according to SEIU organizers, most of the providers who will benefit most from this bill are women of color.

Despite all the effort that has been put into this fight, there are still some people who wonder why it so important for these providers to unionize and bargain collectively. The nature of the work that these child care workers do can be pretty isolating. Living and working from your home and interacting with little children for most of the day can leave providers out of touch with what’s going on in their community.

As McMillian points out, “I first started looking towards the union because I was looking for a community. And that led me to find out that there were other issues.”

This has led to more potential opportunities. McMillian says she is personally interested in exploring the possibility of a substitute pool which can come in handy whenever she gets sick or something and needs an extra set of hands to help care for the kids. She is also interested in the possibility of a career ladder, which will incentivize other providers to stay in the field.

AB 378 addresses many things that are open to negotiation. This includes everything from reimbursement rates, professional development, training in supporting bilingual youth, and even recruitment.

What happens when the bill gets signed into law?
According to SEIU California, with the passing of the bill, child care providers could now start a conversation about expanding and allowing families who struggle to afford quality child care to finally be able to get it.

Plus, the opportunity this brings goes beyond just the providers and workers. Parents and their children will also potentially benefit. With this bill, all the stakeholders can finally start thinking about sitting down with each other and talking about the realities of child care work. This discussion will make everyone consider each other as partners in the journey towards making the child care system in California the best it can be.

Once it becomes law, the child care providers that it caters to will be represented by their local union, which will be under Child Care Providers United, a body created as a partnership between SEIU and AFSCME-UDW.

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