UNION NEWS
CHILD CARE PROVIDERS VOTE 92 PERCENT YES TO FORM UNION WITH SEIU TO GAIN VOICE FOR QUALITY CARE

10,000 Child Care Providers Join Together To Improve Services for Washington Children

SEATTLE– Washington family child care providers voted 92 percent to join Local 925 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) for a voice to improve access to quality child care for Washington families. Ballots were counted on Saturday.

 “Child care providers know what it takes to provide quality care and education, and we’re excited that we have a stronger voice to improve child care in our state,” said Donna Horne, a child care provider from Everett.

Family child care, or home-based child care, is a popular child care setting for many of the 700,000 Washington children who spend time in child care arrangements while their parents work—but a third of family child care providers in Washington leave the field every year. 

 “It’s been getting harder and harder for families to find affordable, quality child care, and this election is a step in the right direction.” said Barbara Flye, whose 20 month-old daughter Lucy spends time in family child care.

Many providers can’t afford to stay in the industry because they make well below minimum wage and have no access to affordable health care.

 Providers will next meet with the Washington Department of Social and Health Services to discuss their concerns and work together with the state to strengthen child care and early education services.  At the top of their list of priorities is reducing  turnover and increasing options for family child care in Washington communities by improving subsidy reimbursement rates and giving input on regulations that help promote safe, quality, affordable child care and early education.

 At the same time providers will be working to build support for legislation that would allow them to negotiate a contract with the state.

 The 10,000 providers are only the second group of family child care providers to have a union election, after the success of 49,000 Illinois providers in April.  The American Arbitration Association, a nationally respected organization committed to fairness and neutrality, ran the three-week vote-by-mail election and announced the results.

With this election, SEIU Local 925 represents 20,000 public service workers in Washington State, including workers at the University of Washington, school districts, local government, and non-profit organizations.  Nationally, SEIU is the largest and fastest-growing union in the country with 1.8 million members.