Contra Costa County Home Health Care Workers Rally for Higher Wages, Improved Benefits

About 30 home health care workers held a rally in front of the Contra Costa County Administration Building on Tuesday, calling for higher wages and improved benefits, the Contra Costa Times reports. The county's contract with more than 4,000 home health care workers, who are represented by Service Employees International Union Local 250, expired last week. According to Local 250 President Sal Roselli, county officials had promised to begin contract negotiations in January, with the hope of reaching an agreement "well before the contract deadline." However, Roselli said, "They broke that commitment. We're no further along now than we were in January." Roselli added that although home health care workers' salaries have increased from $5.75 an hour in 1999 to $9 an hour currently, they do not have paid days off or sick leave. Home health care workers' wages come from federal, state and county coffers, and Contra Costa administrators are "reluctant to sign a deal until the state resolves its budget impasse," the Times reports (Felsenfeld, Contra Costa Times, 7/10).