1199SEIU Makes History in Belittling Women of Color

1199SEIU Makes History in Belittling Women of Color, with Arbitration Award for Less Than 0.5% of the Wages They Are Owed

For immediate release: Wednesday, March 2, 2022

On Monday, just days before International Working Women’s Day, 1199SEIU announced a “historic” $30 million arbitrated settlement for 120,000 home care workers who had their wages stolen while working 24-hour workdays. After 7 years of delay, this settlement will award workers, predominantly immigrant women of color, just $250 each, amounting to less than 2 days of backpay for 24-hour shifts. Yet this settlement is meant to redress 8 years of grueling 24-hour shifts that have inflicted permanent mental and physical health damages on workers. Despite its branding, the settlement signals a shameful historic low for women and for the labor movement.

In 2019, 1199SEIU calculated that the 42 home care agencies with 1199 owe over $6 billion in wages, from illegally paying workers only 13 hours of each 24-hour shift. Based on this, the union’s current settlement amounts to only 0.5 percent of its previous conservative estimate. According to the Ain't I A Woman?! Campaign’s estimation,  Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) alone owes its workers $90 million in stolen wages. For example, Lai Yee Chan is owed $247,000 by CPC for 6 years of 24-hour workdays. It is disappointing to see that, with its reputation for racial equality, 1199 is helping sweatshops like CPC evade labor laws and maintain a racist and sexist system. 1199 is suggesting that women of color and immigrant women be grateful for any meager crumbs they get. 

The Ain’t I a Woman?! Campaign demands that home care agencies immediately end the violent 24-hour workday and pay back the full amount of stolen wages. We call on 1199SEIU and elected officials to ensure agencies pay back workers, and enforce labor laws, to end this violence against women of color!