Union continues calls for pay increase for Fresno County home care workers

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Long-term care workers spoke out on Tuesday about their continued contract talks with Fresno County.

"Our county supervisors aren't listening to us. Every time we go to the board hearings, we feel unheard and ignored," said Olga Valle.

A couple dozen in-home and long-term care workers demanded better pay and healthcare during a gathering in Clovis.

The caretakers are members of the SEIU 2015 union, which represents about 21,000 such workers in Fresno County.

The county hires those workers to provide in-home health services to community members who are aged, blind, or disabled and on Medi-Cal.

Charlene Howdeshell told Action News she takes care of her mother and a non-verbal person.

She often drives them to appointments in town -- but with a 16-dollar-an-hour wage, she says she's living paycheck-to-paycheck and will soon need to consider food banks and outside help.

"It just about is at that point. I've never spent this amount of time budgeting my finances as I have this year," explained Howdeshell.

Tuesday's gathering was the latest in an ongoing back-and-forth debate between the union and Fresno County.

The care workers are pushing for a livable wage and adequate healthcare benefits.

In a statement earlier this month, the union's president said negotiations stalled.

On Tuesday, Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig told Action News that's not true.

He said the board's negotiators are actively talking with the in-home workers.

Magsig shot back at the union's assertion that the county wants to cut healthcare benefits in exchange for a higher wage.

"Our goal is to make sure that workers of Fresno County that are part of that IHSS program - all of them receive benefits. Because right now, only 10% of their workers receive this full health benefit," said Magsig.

Just a few weeks ago, members of the SEIU 2015 union protested outside the homes of supervisor Magsig and his colleague Steve Brandau, a tactic that drew criticism.

Action News asked one of the organizers about that on Tuesday.

The organizer said it effectively drew attention to their cause and said the union members were simply exercising their constitutional rights.

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