Personal care attendants rally for higher pay

LYNN – More than 40 people gathered at an event in Lynn Fri day to express support for personal care attendants, who are bargaining for higher wages, formal training and health insurance for all workers.The personal care attendants, or PCAs, are part of the 1199SEIU health care workers union, and they care for the disabled or the elderly in their homes in a one-on-one setting through a program organized by MassHealth. The PCA consumers hire their own attendant, and the PCAs help the consumers with daily activities.Gregoria Fana, 55, has been a PCA for the past four years for her mother, and is one of about 360 PCAs in Lynn that serve around 1,000 people.?It?s very important that [the consumers] can be at home and they can receive love and affection. However, we as the PCAs still need to gain a number of things that we need,” she said in Spanish to the audience at the Lynn Housing Authority through union interpreter Robinson Mosquera.This year, the PCAs are negotiating with the Personal Care Attendant Workforce Council, a state agency, to raise their $12.48 hourly wage and add benefits. In last year?s contract negotiations, the union opted to not fight for a pay increase and instead ensure there were no cuts to the PCA program, said speaker Ana Maria Hernandez through Mosquera. Hernandez has been a PCA for the past two years for her mother in Lynn.However, Hernandez said, the union did win $1 million in training funds from the state last year.Rebecca Gutman, vice president of Massachusetts home care for the union, said in an interview prior to the event that the money has not been spent yet because the PCA Workforce Council and the union wanted to have a “substantive needs assessment” of both PCAs and consumers before a training program was developed.PCAs currently do not need training before being hired, and Hernandez said only some consumers pay for training for their PCAs.?We want to make sure that we are trained so we can bring the dignity to the profession that we have, so we can make sure that we can continue growing in our career, in the work that we do,” she said.Gutman said that the union is also looking for health insurance for PCAs that are not eligible for a state-subsidized plan.Salem resident Shawn McDuff shared during the event how essential PCAs have been in his life. For the past 25 years, since age 18, he has received the individualized care that has allowed him to stay in his home and work for the past 22 years at the Independent Living Center of the North Shore and Cape Ann.?I can?t imagine what it would be like to live in a nursing home. That would certainly be my last choice,” he said.In addition to PCAs and consumers, community groups, a number of legislative aides for state politicians and Ward 6 Councilor Peter Capano attended the event.Capano, who is sponsoring a resolution in the city council in support of the union?s demands, said PCAs deserve more for what he called “one of the most important occupations that anyone could ever have.”?There is nothing wrong with wanting to be paid a decent wage and having health care for doing this type of work. What good is it if this is a temp job?” Capano said.Gutman said she expects the preference for at-home care will continue to rise as baby boomers age, but there may not be enough PCAs to meet the demand. The amount of consumer-directed PCAs in the state, Gutman said, has risen significantly in a short span of time. There are currently 32,000 PCAs serving 20,000 senior citizens or people with disabilities, she said, up from 22,000 PCAs for 13,000 consumers five years ago.?We anticipate that this gap will be growing wider and wider, and want to make sure the job is taken care of.”Sarah Mupo can be reached at [email protected].