L.A. COUNTY: Raise Approved for Home-Care Workers

      Effective mid-September, 74,000 home-care workers in Los Angeles County will receive a 50-cents-an-hour raise as a result of their first union contract, the Los Angeles Times reports. Home-care workers, who are paid by a "mix of county, state and federal funds" will see their current minimum wage income increased to $6.25 an hour, the maximum allowed under state law. While union leaders wanted a $7-an-hour wage, Tyrone Freeman, general manger for the Service Employees International Union Local 434B, notes "[T]his is a first step. Now we're going to focus on health care ... for these workers." Last April, home-care workers voted to join the union "in a landmark election that ... offered evidence that a scattered, low-wage force could be organized." The raise is a temporary measure that will expire next June, but a bill to continue funding has already passed through the Legislature and is waiting for Gov. Davis' signature (Cleeland, 8/11).