Thursday, March 05, 2009

Forced Unionization of Home Health Care Workers

I thought we were trying to decrease the price of health care???

A little-known provision in Governor Doyle’s proposed budget would make the state a union organizer for personal care workers and would require most people who hire personal care workers to hire only those in the union, a requirement that will certainly increase health care costs, state Senator Michael G. Ellis said today.

“This provision was never mentioned by the governor in his budget address or in any of the budget documents released by the Administration,” Ellis said. “Instead, it’s buried inside a 1,700 page document.”

According to an analysis of the budget by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the provision would create a Wisconsin Quality Home Care Authority that would be required to establish and maintain a registry of home care providers and determine the eligibility of providers to be placed on the registry. The bill would provide collective bargaining rights to home care providers under the registry.

The bill would also require any person who receives any state assistance for health care and who wants to hire any person for individual home care to hire only a provider eligible for inclusion on the registry and the person would be required to compensate providers in accordance with any collective bargaining agreement pertaining to home care providers.

“This provision is shocking in its scope,” Ellis said. “The state is becoming a coercive union organizer. The state is bypassing all normal ways of creating a union and forcing unionization into the home care field.

(8) Comments
Posted by Owen at 1818 hrs
Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

  1. Wow, this really hits home for me!  My wife is an independent contractor and provides home care for older folks.  She purposely keeps costs low so that her elderly clients don’t have to sacrifice food or meds to afford a little help here and there.

    If this actually passes, I’d be willing to bet more of these semi-independent people will be forced to leave their homes and move to nursing homes and transitional care facilities (which, of course, costs a lot more).

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 05, 2009 at 1839 hrs


  2. This is a real bad idea. We have a product that helps seniors stay independent in their own homes for a fraction of the cost of institutionalized care. I certainly hope that we don’t need the blessing of the state.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 05, 2009 at 1909 hrs


  3. This is pathetic. It harms elderly people, strips them of their dignity, and drives the cost of health care up. It benefits very few at the expense of everyone. It creates government spending at a time of massive deficit.  I understand every politician pays his donors back, but they have to have some balance, some morality, some ethics towards the greater good of the people. Doyle should be ashamed of himself.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 05, 2009 at 1930 hrs


  4. Mike Ellis appears to be one of the few Republicans awake at the switch. Maybe the only one.

    Could we get one or two more to wake up? Maybe it is better that they rest like they have the last 10 years. Wouldn’t want them to strain themselves in the twilight of their careers. 

    I am not promoting starting a 3rd party but how about one that is an alternative to Democrats? Geeze!!!!!

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 05, 2009 at 1953 hrs


  5. Ok… I think this might hit MY wife too (she’s a companion for a homecare company). Is there anything we can do to block this (or at least get this provision overturned)?

    Posted by Strings on March 06, 2009 at 0504 hrs


  6. Way to go Jim!  You’ve hit a new low: selling out old folks for union thugs.  Bravo.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 06, 2009 at 0939 hrs


  7. Yes John Galt, a second political party may be necessary.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 06, 2009 at 0943 hrs


  8. I saw that the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce was against the “prevailing wage” stupidity that Milwaukee proposed. The Urban League, NAACP and others were supporting it.

    The Hispanic Chamber gets it right! Maria Cameron is right to put her people first before political correctness and she does so every time. Is this the only leader left in Milwaukee?

    She and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce should be running the city. They have done a lot with little resources. Milwaukee has done little with massive resources.

    BVBigBro: I would hate to start a party from scratch. Let’s scratch the fluff, purge the loosers and start putting peole like this in power to represent us as well as the Hispanic community.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 06, 2009 at 1418 hrs


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