96% Vote to Unionize
CSEA Gets 17,000 Child-Care Workers

By MEREDITH KOLODNER 

GOVERNOR SPITZER: Order opened the door.

More than 17,000 child-care providers became union members Feb. 15, bringing the total of day-care workers in New York State who have joined unions to roughly 52,500 in less than a year.

The newest group consists of unlicensed, mostly home-based providers who earn between $5,000 and $15,000 per year, depending upon the number of children they care for and in which county they are located. The new union members, 96 percent of whom voted to join the Civil Service Employees Association, work throughout the state, from the southeast tip of Long Island up to Buffalo, excluding the five boroughs.

About a quarter of the providers who received ballots returned them. The vote count was 3,723 in favor and 161 against, after 124 ballots were invalidated.

Key Issues in Vote

Organizers said that late and inaccurate payments and a lack of health benefits figured prominently in the day-care workers' decision to unionize.

"Payments come between one and three months late," said CSEA spokeswoman Jill Asencio. "It makes it a lot tougher for them to keep up on their bills, and in some cases, providers have trouble buying food and other things they need for day care."

GLADYS CARRIÓN: Ready to start bargaining.

Governor Spitzer signed an executive order in May 2007, which allowed child-care providers, who in the past had been classified as independent contractors, to join unions. Mr. Spitzer's action did not designate the providers as state workers, as had previous legislation backed by the unions and vetoed by former-Governor Pataki. Instead, they will bargain for market rates, regulations and working conditions, but will not be under the jurisdiction of the Taylor Law or have access to the state pension system.

The order divided the roughly 60,000 providers into four units, subsidized and unsubsidized in New York City, and licensed and unlicensed in the rest of the state.

Approximately 28,000 home-based subsidized providers joined the United Federation of Teachers last October.

About 7,500 registered family and licensed group family child-care workers statewide joined CSEA in July 2007 and are entering bargaining. Office of Children and Family Services Commissioner Gladys Carrión and CSEA President Danny Donohue met Feb. 15 for preliminary discussions. The first negotiating session was scheduled for Feb. 23.

"Recognizing home-based child-care workers as professionals is critical to raising the quality of child-care across the state," said Ms. Carrión.

Aids All Workers

Mr. Donohue noted that unionizing was good for the providers, as well as other workers across the state. "Quality child-care helps us raise happy and healthy children and provides parents the peace of mind necessary to be productive at their jobs," he said.

Child-care providers in the newest bargaining unit, who are exempt from state licensing requirements, include workers taking care of one or two children outside the children's homes, two or more children for three hours or fewer, or extended family members, such as grandparents or aunts.

Providers who come to the child's home for day care are also exempt from state licensing requirements. Some group child-care providers are also included in the unlicensed bargaining unit, including those working in after-school programs located at schools and at summer camps.

The campaign to organize the unlicensed providers began in June 2007. CSEA organizers and activist providers went door to door and collected more than 5,000 signed union cards to show the State Employment Relations Board that there was sufficient interest to hold an election.

A National Push

CSEA made mailings and phone calls to providers as the ballots were being sent out. Unlike the UFT campaign, which relied heavily on the canvassing legwork of the community group ACORN, CSEA conducted its drive using its own staff and with assistance from its parent union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Organizing child-care workers is a national priority for AFSCME, which estimates it has organized 60,000 providers since 2005 in states including Michigan, Kansas and Pennsylvania. There are campaigns under way in Ohio, California and New Mexico.

New York CSEA officials argued that the win will improve conditions not only for the providers, but also for the children they take of. They also believe that more providers will stay in the field, offering parents more choices.

"This is a victory for both child-care providers and parents," said Ms. Asencio. "This group can now join in the process of making significant changes to the child-care industry, improving both the accessibility and quality in New York."