General News
UFT: Many benefits from providers joining union
Dec 6, 2007 10:39 AM
UFT Vice President Michelle Bodden tells the State Assembly Standing Committees on Labor, Children and Families and Social Services that more funding is needed if home child care provider programs are to succeed and to attract the most qualified people.
In testimony before the State Assembly Standing Committees on Labor, Children and Families and Social Services, UFT Vice President Michelle Bodden pointed out that the city’s 28,000 newly organized UFT home child care providers are not simply joining a union but are, instead, “joining an education union, a connection that offers huge potential for their training and professional development.”
The purpose of the daylong hearing on Nov. 7 in Manhattan was to examine the state’s efforts to provide high-quality, affordable and accessible child care for working families.
Bodden assured committee members that the UFT was committed to providing the best training available and that the providers “are excited and eager to continue the campaign they started two years ago to become professionals offering quality care and early education to the city’s poorest kids.”
She also spoke of studies indicating that an investment in early childhood education pays off in reduced need for special education, social services and incarceration.
Citing the stark contrast between the crucial work providers perform and their status among the lowest-paid workers in the region — their average, annual wage is $19,333 with no health benefits or pensions — Bodden called for more funding if provider programs are to succeed and to attract the most qualified people.
“Government funding for subsidized child care has been static despite continual increases in the cost of living,” she said, noting economic gains to the city if wages and working conditions were improved. Increased funding would not only raise the standard of living for providers but would also attract more people to the field which in turn will free more parents to join the work force who would otherwise have to stay home with young children.
On issues of safety, Bodden indicated the UFT has worked with the City Department of Health and the Office of Children and Family Services to develop “a clear and consistent set of safety standards” both for inspectors and providers. Although providers will not know when they are to be inspected they will know what is expected of them to ensure children are cared for in safe environments.
While the UFT went on record in support of a statewide rating system to promote quality child care, Bodden said the rating system must be appropriate to the work of the providers. In concluding remarks, she said, “As they develop their skills with the union’s help, we expect that the majority of these dedicated and caring individuals ultimately will be well-ranked in any statewide rating system.”
