12,000 Child Care Workers Fight for Right to Negotiate

Columbia, Washington

Another victory for Child Care workers is close at hand, as the Washington State Senate prepares for a vote on House Bill 2449, a ground-breaking law which would help more child care workers form unions and organize for better wages.

10,000 child care workers successfully organized into SEIU in 2006. This campaign is our next push to allow more early education workers to form unions, in order to negotiate at the state and federal level for better subsidies for child care workers.

House Bill 2449 would create unique bargaining units made up of child care workers and directors. They would then work together to negotiate higher state reimbursement rates for day care centers and professional training and health care benefits for workers.

This bill is unique in the history of the United States.

The bill has already passed the Washington State House of Representatives 70-24, but opposition is mobilizing to derail it in the senate.

With budget crises and economic woes across the nation, SEIU members are mobilizing to save the services that matter most to working families: child care and education. With important bills such as HB2449 passing in states such as Washington, we have a real chance to make big changes for the child care industry in America.