Child Care for All
When providers come together to form a union, we can make big changes and improve our livelihoods and the quality of child care for thousands of families in California. A union means we have a strong voice and a seat at the table with the state of California to negotiate reimbursement rates and working conditions, including changes to rules, payment systems, access to affordable care, and more! Learn more.
Child Care for All
When providers come together to form a union, we can make big changes and improve the quality of child care for thousands of families in California. A union means providers have a powerful voice to improve our livelihoods and the services we provide. It means we have a seat at the table with the state of California to negotiate reimbursement rates, working conditions including changes to rules, payment systems, and more! Learn more.
Stay informed! Subscribe to receive email updates.
Join Us
By coming together within a union we can lift ourselves up and the children and families we serve. Not ready to join yet? You can still authorize Child Care Providers United to represent you when we gain collective bargaining rights.
Sign Our Petition
We’re forming a union and fighting for a stronger voice through collective bargaining rights. Tell parents to join you in the fight for quality child care for all by signing this petition.
Share Your Story
Stories can inspire and change minds, and show what statistics can’t. What does your struggle look like? How have you changed a child’s life, or played a part in helping a family find their footing?
Who We Are
California Child Providers United (CCPU) brings together thousands of child care providers throughout California who work together to improve our profession and ensure every child has access to quality early learning and care.
CCPU is made up of a statewide partnership between three powerful unions – SEIU Local 99 Education Workers in Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, SEIU Local 521 in the Central Valley and Bay Area, and United Domestic Workers Alliance in San Diego.
As union members, child care providers have a powerful voice to improve our livelihoods and the services we provide. Together, we’ve already been able to win rate increases, improved state funding for early care and education, more training for providers, and additional child care slots for families.
To continue to win lasting changes for child care, we’re working to pass legislation that will give providers collective bargaining rights. Collective bargaining rights will give us a seat at the table with the state of California to negotiate our reimbursement rates and working conditions, including changes to rules, payment systems, and more!
We’re stronger when we’re united. Become a member of CCPU.
What We Want
What we want is simple: a unified voice to negotiate with the State of California for improvements to the child care industry on matters that impact child care providers, parents, and children. For us—the providers—these are three key parts to what we’re fighting for:
A Voice in Our Profession
Through a Union
A union is simply a group of workers who join together to raise their standard of living and improve the services they provide. With a union we have a stronger voice to negotiate reimbursement rate increases, better working conditions, more training, increased access to affordable child care —and more. The strength of the union comes from our numbers. In other words, how many of us are union members. More members means more power to improve our livelihoods and the early care and education we provide.
A Seat at the Table With the State of California
Through Collective Bargaining
Right now, the State of California makes unilateral changes that affect the child care industry and they can do so without the input of those most impacted—family child care providers. We can change this with Assembly Bill 378 (Building a Better Early Care and Education System Act). AB 378 will grant providers collective bargaining rights, and with that, the ability to negotiate a legally-binding contract that guarantees our benefits, reimbursement rates, rules, training, and more. With a contract, California will not be able to make changes to our working conditions without negotiating with us as union members.
A Seat at the Table With the State of California
Through Collective Bargaining
Improvements to the Child Care System
Through Child Care Providers United
With collective bargaining rights, child care providers will have a direct voice to negotiate a contract with the state. We’ll be able to address many of the issues we care about, including: improving our reimbursement rates and benefits and increasing access for low-income families who cannot afford the rising cost of child care. We can also ensure the training offered to providers meets the state’s needs for the overall childcare workforce, as well as health, safety, and educational standards; aligns with California’s quality rating systems; and eliminate barriers to access training.
With collective bargaining rights, child care providers will have a direct voice to negotiate a contract with the state. We’ll be able to address many of the issues we care about, including: improving our reimbursement rates and benefits and increasing access for low-income families who cannot afford the rising cost of child care. We can also ensure the training offered to providers meets the state’s needs for the overall childcare workforce, as well as health, safety, and educational standards; aligns with California’s quality rating systems; and eliminate barriers to access training.
Why Join a Union?
Here’s three good reasons
Be a Change Agent
Have you missed a payment because a parent’s signature was missing? Have you struggled to get an agency on the phone? Have you experienced arbitrary changes to rules when visited by licensing? You’re not alone. Over 1,000 other child care providers have been there, have fought, and have won. We don’t have to fight this broken system alone. As a member of SEIU Local 99, we have the unique opportunity to meet face to face with decision-makers in the child care system. We regularly meet with Community Care and Licensing, the Department of Social Services (both in Los Angeles and statewide), and host our own meetings to learn how to become advocates in our profession. We train to become leaders in the child care industry and together have helped dozens of other members receive long-delayed payments, reimbursements, and streamline the complaints process in Los Angeles and San Bernardino County. This is YOUR UNION.
Training and Workforce Development
As a future member of SEIU Local 99, you will join a team of seasoned early education professionals who stand together to ensure we are all up to date with the latest changes in California’s child care system. We host regular workshops on licensing, CPR/First-Aid, Mandatory Abuse Reporting, and even workshops to help with your taxes.
Member-only Perks and Benefits
As a SEIU Local 99 member, you’re entitled to member-only benefits, including special loan rates, insurance products, travel deals, hardship assistance, free first aid and CPR classes, and much more. Members can even earn their AA or BA college degrees online at a low tuition cost through our exclusive College for America program. Members also have access to hundreds of discounted goods and services, such as movie theaters, theme parks, phone plans, car rentals, restaurants and concerts. Check out all the perks and benefits.
California’s Broken Child Care System at a Glance
Latest News
Legal Advice for Providers Tips by Attorney Janice Mendel
Attorney Janice C Mendal shares tips about what is the latest from Licensing, and how to ensure you remain in compliance with a mini-inspection checklist. Happy Holidays!
New Laws Help Protect Families & Expand Access to Early Care
Throughout 16 years of organizing, we have worked hard to ensure working families have the highest quality of care possible. We have made the demands of parents and children front and center, including eliminating unnecessary bureaucratic paperwork and advocating for more funds and slots for child care. 2019 was no different. We were able to pass key legislations alongside our Early Care and Education partners.
License Exempt Providers Win With CCPU
Improving the quality of child care providers offer to families is a primary motivation for many providers who have organized their unions across the country. In fact, a 2010 study by the National Women’s Law Center found nine of the twelve state contracts negotiated by providers included wins for license-exempt providers to have greater access to training, professional development, and support structures to gain their license. Here are some of the highlights.
Child Care for All is a joint campaign by child care provider members of SEIU Local 99, SEIU Local 521, and UDW Local 3930. Collectively, we are Child Care Providers United California.
