ST. PAUL, Minn. — An important deadline is fast approaching for the more than 35,000 workers who care for some of Minnesota’s most vulnerable residents.
Home care workers have been at the bargaining table with the Minnesota Department of Human Services for months, with their contract set to expire on Friday.
Their union, Service Employees International Union, says time is truly of the essence.
Dozens of home care workers rallied at the Minnesota Capitol on Wednesday. They’re focusing on wages, retirement security and health care costs to address the workforce shortage seen across the state. They say they need more support to better care for their clients.
“I’m getting closer to retirement age. I don’t have a savings plan because this profession is not treated as a real profession,” said Gail Larson, a home care worker and bargaining committee member.
“We’ve had numerous, different people coming in, able to work for a while and then needing to find something that’s better for them, to be able to make more money to take care of themselves,” said bargaining committee member Jeremy Heyer.