Parents, Child Care Workers and Elected Leaders Call for Policies that Support All Families

As Fight for $15 sweeps the nation, child care workers and parents lead coast to coast tour to engage families in call for affordable care and $15 and a union

DETROIT – More than 150 parents, child care workers and their supporters joined U.S. Rep. John Conyers today at a Detroit community center to call for a plan to address the broken child care system that is leaving families unable to afford care and workers unable to support their families. At a town hall meeting that was part rally today, the group discussed policy recommendations for high-quality, affordable and accessible care and called for $15 and a union for all child care workers.

“I’m happy to stand with you,” said Rep. Conyers, who added that, “we need $15 an hour for child care workers; we need $15 for everybody.”

Last month, child care workers and parents from across the country and members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus announced a bold new plan to ensure high-quality, affordable and accessible child care for every American family and a strong child care workforce. Members of Congress introduced a House resolution on July 28 recognizing the need for a stable and reliable child care system and a full-time living wage for all child care workers.

“I love working with children, but I’m paid so little that I struggle to provide for my own family.” said Kimie Jones, who has worked in child care for 5 years and who also is a homecare worker. “I need at least $15 an hour not only so I can make ends meet, but also to provide the best experience for the children I take care of every day.”

In Michigan, a single mother spends 48 percent of her income on child care, according to 2013 data from the Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies for Child Care Aware.

“Eight-fifteen is not enough, let alone for child care,” said Alicia Roberson, a Dollar Tree cashier who has three children. “I support the $15 for child care workers.”

At the town hall today, working parents, child care workers and local leaders discussed policy recommendation for a stronger child care system in Michigan and nationwide, as part of a multi-city tour in red and blue states across the country this summer. Working parents – who provide and who need child care – will be continuing their calls for $15 and a union at these events. In May, child care workers and parents in the Fight for $15 met with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on the need for economic policies that strengthen the child care workforce and invest in affordable quality child care.
 

BACKGROUND
Child care workers from coast to coast have joined in the Fight for $15 movement that has swept across the nation. Most child care workers are paid less than $10 an hour, and a study by the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for the Study of Child Care Employment found that child care workers have experienced no increase in real wages since 1997, while the cost to parents for early childhood care have grown nearly two-fold. Studies show that 46 percent of child care workers rely on public support programs, including food stamps, Medicaid and the federal Earned Income Tax Credit.

Earlier this month, after a Wage Board empaneled by Gov. Cuomo recommended a $15 minimum wage for fast-food workers throughout New York – boosting pay for 200,000 women and men – child care workers and other underpaid workers rallied in cities, including Detroit, declaring “we need $15 too.”

The Fight for $15 is racking up victories across the country, including $15 minimum wages in Seattle, SeaTac, San Francisco and Los Angeles, as well as $15 for home care workers in Massachusetts. In California, the LA County Board of Supervisors voted to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and the University of California system announced it would raise pay to $15 an hour for its direct and subcontracted workers. And a proposal to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour in the District of Columbia was certified for the 2016 ballot, while Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders and members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus introduced a bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.