ST. PAUL, Min. – An important deadline is quickly approaching for the more than 35,000 workers who care for some of Minnesota’s most vulnerable residents.
Home health care workers have been at the negotiating table with the Minnesota Department of Health for months, and their contracts expire Friday.
Their union, Service Employees International Union, says time really is of the essence.
Dozens of home health care workers gathered at the Minnesota Capitol on Wednesday. They are focusing on wages, retirement security and health care costs to address labor shortages across the state. They say they need more support to better care for their clients.
“I’m getting closer to retirement age. I don’t have a savings plan because this profession is not treated as a real profession,” said Gail Larson, a home care worker and bargaining committee member.
“We had tons of different people coming in who were able to work for a while and then had to find something that was better for them, to be able to make more money to take care of themselves,” said Jeremy Heyer, a negotiating committee member.
The union says it is still hopeful that a provisional agreement will be reached on Friday. This way, they can hopefully reach an agreement before the state presents its upcoming budget for next year.
WCCO-TV has contacted the health department and is awaiting their response.
The new legislature starts on Tuesday.