OP-ED | Daycare Provider Says ‘Yes’ To Union
by Lisa Hinman | May 3, 2012 10:34am
(9) Comments | Commenting has expired
Posted to: Opinion
Connecticut is taking a big step forward for working families and their children by giving family child care providers an official voice with the state. After more than 6 years of working to form our union, a bill at the capitol has finally been voted on by the House of Representatives that will allow us to sit down with the state and negotiate a contract. Our bill is now headed for the Senate where we’re optimistic that State Senators will do the right thing and support our right to collectively bargain.
Providers like myself fill an important niche in Connecticut. We are professionals who take children into our homes at all hours of the day and night for parents who work third shift in nursing homes, and hospitals — times when child care centers are normally closed. We are often the first teachers a child has outside their own home, and the work we do helps our kids begin kindergarten ready to learn. But many family child care providers are struggling because the state doesn’t give us the resources we need to do our job. We are basically treated as low-wage contractors to the state. We are working without a say in the Care 4 Kids program, which is integral to our small businesses.
Many of us can’t afford health insurance, and that has led thousands of quality family child care providers to leave the field in search of more stable working situations. Our collective bargaining bill has been deemed controversial, but it’s hard to see why. It’s common sense that if you want to attract and keep good people, you have to make it so they can make a decent living doing the job. The right to sit down and negotiate doesn’t cost anything but it will go a long way toward correcting this brain drain and help improve standards for our kids.
Opponents of our collective bargaining bill range from tea party republicans eagerly engaged in the war on women, to daycare centers trying to stomp out competition. They have been railing away against our efforts, making outrageous claims to news media with no deference to the facts. They have claimed everything from “we are being forced into forming a union” to declaring that maybe we are just too stupid to understand what’s going on. Last month, a self-proclaimed “constitution lobby” even filed a lawsuit against Governor Malloy for issuing the order that gave us the right to vote in a union election. The group declared that our right to a democratic vote was a “violation akin to slavery.” It’s downright insulting. Let’s call this smear campaign what it truly is — an effort to stop low income women (98 percent of daycare workers are women) — from having rights.
We voted 1603 to 88 to form our union for a reason: Respect. This bill is about respect for the work we do preparing children for school and making it possible for working families to earn a living. If we, as a state, value preparing children so they can begin school ready to learn by retaining the best child care providers, then our right to negotiate a contract is something you should support.
Lisa Hinman is the owner of Lisa’s Little Angels Daycare in Naugatuck.
Tags: day care workers, union, labor, low-wage workers, children, connecticut, Malloy, lisa hinman, dh
(9) Comments
posted by: ASTANVET | May 3, 2012 11:27am
So let me get this straight… you decide to open your own business, in your own home. You set your own wages with the fees you charge parents to provide day care. You set your hours to provide day care with the parents. You say the bill is about respect…who isn’t respecting you? and Who are you going to collectively bargain against? Who are the two parties that are entering into a collective bargaining agreement? You *day care provider and…. the state of Connecticut??? The same families you already set prices with? You cloud the issue with this nonsense about some “war on women” but who is waging a war??? sounds like you had all the opportunity to make a small business. It doesn’t come with freebies. You have to raise revenue to get benefits that you can afford. I do like how you want to privatize the rewards but socialize the costs… Sounds like a bunch of horse hockey.
posted by: Matt W. | May 3, 2012 12:55pm
Astanvet, you missed the best part: “We voted 1603 to 88 to form our union for a reason.” HAHAAAH! I don’t know how someone can actually write that and expect to be taken seriously! What you meant to write is that 88 people took the time out of their day to vote no and most everyone else was either working or didn’t bother to vote so their non-votes counted as a “YES”. It’s Hysterical!!!
posted by: CT Jim | May 3, 2012 6:01pm
Great op-ed and to clarify the providers that are unionizing are ones who recieve money from the state under the care for kids program which helps families who wouldn’t normally be able to pay for child care get a stipend of $99 a week towards that cildcare.This plan makes it much easier for members of these families to go to work. Problem is $99 just isnt enough to pay for that day care forcing these providers to charge on top of the stipend from $50-$100 or more depending on the facility. This stipend hasn’t been raised since 2002. The childcare providers are hopeful with collective bargaining that threshold may be raised helping not only them but the families in the care for kids program
posted by: CT Jim | May 4, 2012 5:50pm
@Matt W, What you are saying is absolutley untrue 1603 voted yes and 88 voted no. As with any other election political or otherwise anybody who didn’t vote was not and will not be counted as anything. Inspite of what the felon on WTIC between 3-6 says about non votes being counted as yes votes once again he’s lying to the CT public. That shouldn’t surprise anyone. I’m sure some Koch brothers pac is paying him to spew those lies and we all know it’s all about the money for him
posted by: redlady | May 4, 2012 9:13pm
Whth all due respect, your collective bargaining rights come out of our tax dollars, Ms. Hinman. And, once the entire field (don’t give a politician an inch…..) is unionized how does a private payer family afford daycare at union wages? How does that family negotiate child care costs with the union?
posted by: wmwallace | May 4, 2012 11:49pm
This is garbage. I know a number of folks who work and own daycare centers and not one wanted this forced unionization that the Governor pushed upon these folks.
What is happening is against we as Americans stand for. Forced into unions is something that happens in socialist countries and last I looked we are still capitalist society.
posted by: CT Jim | May 5, 2012 4:31pm
@redlady, again you are misinformed the only part of these day care providers that are unionized are the ones with care4kids program children in it. As presently care4kids stands they only give the provider and you as the parent would have to make up the difference in cost, with most child care providers charging anywhere from $175-225 a week your cost would be from $75 to $125 a week on what would be low income money. After unionization the union can argue for an increase in care4kids funding which hasn’t been increased since 2002 so if the care4kids money is increased your portion would drop to $25-$75. You should hope the union does well
posted by: redlady | May 7, 2012 9:25am
As a taxpayer and one that watches what the Legislative Branch and the Executive Branch of our governments can do and will do when given unbridled power, I am not misinformed. I am warning that this measure will grow. It will invade other areas of “low” paying careers. It will not only help raise the reimbursement rates of Care4Kids, but it will (thru legislation) spread to other fields, as has happened over time with other classifications of workers receiving taxpayer money.
With liberal lawmakers in the majority there is no other path. Until the voters in this state become informed as the power WE have given these legislators and the unions, and until they figure out that they have the power themselves to change, we are doomed with the amount of debt and obligations that the State of CT can no longer handle.
The unions don’t care about that - they only care about securing their membership dues. That is their existence, whether it comes from a private entity or government funded wages - they could care less the source.
posted by: ASTANVET | May 7, 2012 10:08am
@CTJIM, if your problem is that the state assistance program money is not sufficient to cover the costs of the day care provided, that leaves two options, NO daycare would participate in the program, or that the appropriations committee would step in to appropriate more funds for the program. Either way, the union, who will receive more dues, will be the only entity advantaged by this act. The family who needs service will either lose coverage due to daycare dropping from the program, or rising costs as a result of unionization. You don’t expect the tax payers of the State of Connecticut to pay for everyone’s day care do you???