Leaders Pledge to Keep Working Towards $26/Hr Goal

After 48 Marin Organizing Committee leaders participated in the Marin Board of Supervisors meeting, joined by numerous people online and supported by 50 letters/emails that had been submitted earlier, the Board of Supervisors voted to increase the salaries of In-Home Support Services (IHSS) caregivers to $18/hour.

Leaders delivered compelling testimony in-person and online, and were joined by allies  including InSpirit health care workers, care recipients and SEIU 2015 (who represents caregivers).  MOC leaders provided moving testimony about the limited nature of IHSS time allotments for each recipient. For example, transportation to and from a doctor’s office is allotted only 12 minutes per week, and if the client could theoretically walk into the office herself the caregiver would not be paid while waiting to drive the client home.

Supervisors asked pointed questions, directing staff to include the information MOC provided in calculations for future reports.  They also acknowledged the critical nature of the issue.  At the end of the meeting, County Administrator Matthew Hymel mentioned “our goal of $26/hr.”

MOC announced that next steps would include negotiations between the county and the union, and that it would be MOC's task to "keep the pressure on."  

Marin Increases ‘Living Wage,’ but Home Caregivers Press for More, Marin Independent Journal

Marin County Raises Living Wage to $18 per Hour, NBC Bay Area