Caregivers Strike Continues with Growing Suport

Striking group home and day program caregivers marked week two of their strike against poverty with a rally at Emanuel Lutheran Church, followed by a march to the State Capitol, as Nobel prize winning economist Paul Stiglitz issued a statement of support.

Over 1,700 group home and day program caregivers are striking at six agencies that provide services for 1,500 individuals with disabilities. They are demanding a pathway to $25/hr minimum wage, affordable healthcare, and funding for retirement.

“We make sure that the people we serve can live their life with dignity,” said Alana Davis, a striking caregiver at Whole Life “We’ve been showing up for years. Governor Lamont: it’s time for you to show up for us.”

Connecticut AFL-CIO President Ed Hawthorne said. “If the decision-makers in the Capitol were forced to live in their cars, choose which bills can be paid each month, and struggle with the decision whether to take a sick child to the doctor, then we would not be having this conversation.”

Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Prize economist, issued a statement in support of SEIU 1199NE’s strike against poverty:

“No publicly funded employee caring for others and working full time should be dependent on our welfare system. Raising wages for low-wage workers creates immediate savings in state budgets because they will no longer need to rely so heavily on public programs. It also stimulates the economy because workers will spend their raises as consumers of goods and services in our communities. Public dollars should be used to lift working people out of poverty, not keep them in poverty whether they are working on behalf of for-profit or nonprofit organizations.

“The costs of housing, healthcare, and childcare have increased rapidly, but wages for Black, Brown and white working-class caregivers have remained stagnant. Governor Ned Lamont needs to acknowledge that austerity policies have left the government ill-equipped to address the needs of our most vulnerable individuals. Failing to pay living wages to the workers who provide long-term care and essential services has weakened the economy as a whole.

“A healthy economy is one in which everyone has the economic security, support, and protection they need. A strong economy is one in which everyone prospers. It's one built on the solid foundation of smart investments, and shared prosperity in recognition that all labor has dignity.”