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Improving access to the MBTA
BCIL and its partner in T advocacy, Greater Boston Legal Services, settled a landmark class-action lawsuit against the T for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Public transportation service was essentially off limits to many people with disabilities, denying them reliable access to jobs, cultural offerings, educational opportunities and recreation around Greater Boston. $310 million has been earmarked by the T to improve access to buses, subways, and stations, and MBTA management is demonstrating a commitment to overhaul how they serve customers with disabilities.
Protecting the PCA program and supporting affordable healthcare
PCA Quality Workforce Council legislation, drafted with 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and now enacted into law, establishes a registry of PCAs, making it easier for a disabled individual to find a PCA. The legislation also allows for collective bargaining and improved compensation for PCA's, enabling more people to stay with the job or be attracted to it, reducing turnover. More than 15,000 people utilize over 28,000 Personal Care Attendants each year in Massachusetts in order to maximize their independence, stay out of institutional settings, raise families, pursue jobs and continue schooling.
Promoting better municipal access
BCIL advocates, in conjunction with the Disability Law Center, for greater voter participation through improved access to Boston’s polling locations. Our actions have led to the relocation of polling places to accessible sites. We also campaign for improved accessibility of other barriers around the city such as inaccessible buildings, pathways and sidewalks.
Housing
Housing continues to be the number-one issue for people calling BCIL for assistance. BCIL’s advocacy efforts have generated millions of dollars for programs that support integrated, accessible, and affordable housing for people with disabilities, including the Home Modification Loan Program, the Community Based Housing Program, and the Alternative Housing Voucher Program.
November 30, 2007
Dear PCA User and Advocate:
As you may have heard, Personal Care Attendants (PCA's) in Massachusetts voted to form a union, with 94% of those casting ballots voting to affiliate with 1199SEIU. The American Arbitration Association, a neutral body that the PCA Quality Homecare Workforce Council and the Union hired to oversee the election, announced the results on November 8, 2007.
This is a great step towards getting better and fair wages and benefits for PCA's, who, as we all know, are not compensated fairly – something underscored when the state delayed providing a raise this year, even though it's now almost three years since a PCA pay increase was provided. Poor compensation often means high turnover in the PCA workforce, a real big problem that numerous consumers have raised for years – actually for the past twenty years or longer!
Now many of you are probably wondering what is going to happen next.
The Union is working with the state to arrange collective bargaining, a process that will be conducted with the PCA Quality Homecare Workforce Council, a majority of whose members are PCA users, including three BCIL activists. We're hoping this process can begin as quickly as possible and that an agreement will be reached swiftly so that PCA's will finally have a better wage. But there are no guarantees – we're going to have to continue in our advocacy roles to promote the Personal Care Attendant program and its vital role in helping individuals with disabilities to remain and maintain their independence in the community.
The question of consumer control often comes up when there's discussion of the union. We wish to emphasize that when the PCA Quality Homecare Workforce law was unanimously passed by the legislature in July 2006, it put consumer control into law, cementing a consumer's right to hire, dismiss, and supervise their attendants and direct their own care. The Union fully respects the sanctity of this relationship.
There will be no interference in the work place; there will be no strikes; there will only be collaboration with disability advocates and consumers to make the PCA program better for consumers and attendants.
Enclosed is a fact sheet that may further inform you about the Union. Please contact us with questions.
We look forward to working together and building our combined strength to support quality homecare that includes adequate hours and supports for consumers, as well as good and fair wages and benefits for PCA's who enable us to live as independently as possible in the communities in which we live.
Sincerely,
Sergio Goncalves, BCIL Chairperson
Bill Henning, BCIL director
Mike Fadel, 1199SEIU Executive Vice President
Becca Gutman, 1199SEIU Community Coalition Coordinator
What were the election results?
PCA's voted YES in support of joining 1199SEIU by a margin of 94%.
Why have PCA's voted to form a union?
PCA's voted for better wages and benefits. While consumers and advocates have been working for PCA pay raises for years, wages are still too low and there are no benefits. It is no wonder so many consumers have a hard time finding and keeping PCA's This year, the state did not grant any pay raises for PCA's even after consumers’ intensive advocacy. Coming together as a PCA union is the only way PCA's will get a pay raise.
Which PCA's will be eligible to be in the union?
PCA's compensated via MassHealth and Commonwealth – now and in the future – will be in the union.
Who is 1199SEIU?
1199 SEIU is a local union that is part of the Service Employees International Union, the largest and fastest growing healthcare union in the United States. It has over 250,000 members working in healthcare and homecare and is a strong advocate for good jobs, community-based care and consumer control.
What happens next?
PCA's are meeting all over the state to get ready to negotiate with the PCA Quality Homecare Workforce Council and the state's Executive Office of Health and Human Services over their wages, health insurance, and paid time off. The timeline for bargaining depends on how long it takes to come to an agreement. No pay raises or benefits will take effect until a contract has been negotiated and approved by a majority of PCA's
When will PCA's start paying union dues?
PCA's will start paying union dues after the first contract is negotiated and approved by a majority of PCA's Dues equal 2% of a PCA’s gross pay and go to additional organizing of home and health care workers, political advocacy, and representation. Many PCA's have indicated they'll contribute to a political action fund after the contract is ratified, which will give the union more power to elect legislators who support important issues like PCA raises and expanded hours for consumers. PCA providers are not connected to this fund in any way.
Do consumers still have the right to hire and fire PCA's with the PCA union?
Yes! Nothing will change for PCA consumers in terms of their employer relationship with PCA's Consumers will still have the right to hire, fire and direct their own care.
Will PCA's be able to file grievances to address unfair work rules or go on strike?
No. The PCA union is about building political power with the state to negotiate for better wages and benefits and an improved PCA program. The union will not file grievances that challenge work rules set by consumers, and it is against the law in Massachusetts for PCA's to go on strike.
How else is the PCA union working with the disability community?
The PCA union is working with the disability community to make the PCA program more responsive to consumers and to providers. The union also has supported increased funding for IL centers, accessible housing, and increased public accessibility. The union will be a strong supporter of Community First, the effort to increase community-based services for people with disabilities and elders and to decrease the bias toward institutional care. A high majority of 1199's members provide community-based services to people with disabilities!
Healthcare access: BCIL is continuing its campaign, in conjunction with Greater Boston Legal Services, to promote increased access to hospitals and other healthcare facilities in Greater Boston. Please contact Karen Schneiderman of BCIL at kschneiderman@bostoncil.org if you've run into an access barrier. Problems people report include:
Boston access campaign stays hot: The campaign to improve access in the city remains in full gear. Approximately forty people rallied in the Back Bay on October 5, 2007 to demand an end to brick sidewalks and to highlight that the City of Boston has been fined over $340,000 for maintaining an inaccessible brick sidewalk along Huntington Avenue. City councilors Arroyo and Turner attended the event, as did local media. Contact John Kelly at the Neighborhood Access Group (617-536-5140) or Evelyne Milorin at BCIL (617-338-6665) to join the campaign.
I have a neuromuscular disability and have been ventilator-dependent for 20 years. I use two identical ventilators, one that sits on a tray on the back of my power wheelchair and one that is stationed on a bedside table.
Last fall I had to be hospitalized at a major Boston hospital because of a severe stomach virus. After I was admitted, hospital administrators told me I couldn't use my ventilators but instead had to switch to a different make of ventilator supplied by their respiratory care department. The reason they stated for this demand was that, since I was their patient, they were responsible for me. And they couldn't ensure my safety when I was using my own ventilators because they weren't familiar with them, and they didn't interface with the hospital's alarm system. I tried their ventilator but found that I couldn't breathe comfortably on it. And, since it was new to me, I felt insecure and dependent using it. In contrast, I am extremely competent and independent with my own ventilators. So, I refused to switch. But I offered to sign a statement absolving the hospital of responsibility for any problems resulting from my decision.
The response of the administrators was to try strenuously to convince me to change my mind. They subjected me to extreme verbal pressure, which in my very sick condition amounted to abuse. I maintained my position, because I felt that my well-being was at stake. And they finally stopped pressuring me and allowed me to finish my inpatient stay, using my own ventilators.
I maintain that the administrators' demand was unjust, paternalistic and outrageous. Ventilators and other highly personal medical equipment function as extensions of a person's body, and nobody should be expected to give them up. Furthermore, individuals with disabilities have the right to function as independently as possible, the right to expect institutional policies to be applied to them with reasonable flexibility, the right to assume the risks they want to, and the right to be treated with consideration and respect, I was granted none of these by the administrators.
- Paul Kahn, Newton, MA
