(Jefferson City) On March 12, 2009 the newly formed union for Missouri home care attendants submitted petition cards signed by thousands of attendants to hold an election for union representation. Missouri’s Consumer Directed Home Care program provides vital services to tens of thousands of Missourians with disabilities, allowing them to continue living at home. Though the program – and the attendants who assist the consumers – saves the state millions of dollars by allowing consumers to remain in their homes and not go to nursing facilities, attendants barely make minimum wage and have no benefits. An array of issues face consumers and attendants which and will be better addressed through collective bargaining.

This is made possible by the last November’s passage – with 75% of the vote -- of Proposition B, the Missouri Quality Home Care Act, which sets up the Missouri Quality Homecare Council. Missouri’s two largest unions representing home care attendants – the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Service Employees International Union – have formed an alliance to represent Missouri attendants. A union representation election by attendants, conducted by the state Board of Mediation, is expected later this spring.

(Jefferson City, MO)- As part of their ongoing fight for union representation members of the Home Care Union, a joint project of AFSCME Council 72 and SEIU Missouri State Council, held their first of many political actions.

Home Health Care workers from across Missouri called their State Senators and demanded that they fight to restore $350,000 of funding for the Home Care Council included in Governor Jay Nixon’s proposed State Budget. This funding was slashed to nothing by the proposed budget cuts of the Missouri House of Representatives.

In addition, the workers made commitments to continue their advocacy with a petition drive back home. “It is important for all Home Health Care workers to speak with one loud and united voice, and that is exactly what they did today and will continue to do in the future. Today Home Health Care workers sent the message that it is unacceptable for the state to shortchange the needs of its most vulnerable citizens and their caregivers.” said Don Zavodny, Director of AFSCME Council 72. “The people receiving in home health care deserve to know they have a fully funded Home Care Council overseeing their care.”

Personal care attendants from all over Missouri turned out for the February 25^th Medicaid Makes Cents Rally at the Capitol, an annual event put on by the Disabled Citizen Alliance for Independence.  The AFSCME Home Care Union was a visible force at the rally.  Attendants and consumers filled the halls and met with legislators to educate them about the importance of maintaining a quality home care program.

Personal care attendants are uniting to win a voice in Jefferson City.  The legislature must adequately fund Medicaid in order to secure the future and availability of quality home care.

Governor Nixon, Attorney General Chris Koster, and members of the legislature also spoke to the crowd on Wednesday afternoon.

AFSCME Council 72's top targeted candidate, Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, won a overwhelming victory in the race for Missouri Governor last Tuesday.  With AFSCME's support, Nixon was able to compile a massive margin in his win, earning a more than 19 point edge on his opponent, Congressman Kenny Hulshof.

Nixon earned AFSCME's support early in the cycle, as Council 72 was perhaps the first union to pledge its full support to Nixon at the beginning of 2007.

As Attorney General, Nixon has been a strong supporter of public workers and has governed with a respect for a vibrant public sector.  Throughout his campaign, Nixon's standard stump speech noted that one of his goals is for more Missourians to be carrying union cards at the end of his term than were carrying them at the beginning.

AFSCME played a vital role in Nixon's election, providing financial support but also waves of volunteer activism and grassroots advocacy on the candidate's behalf.

Nixon will be inaugurated on Monday, January 12, 2009 and AFSCME Council 72 plans on going quickly to work with the new governor to improve the rights and conditions for employees of the state.

(Topeka) - A joint committee of the Kansas legislature will consider a number of topics of interest to Kansas CCPT and family child care providers around the state.

The committee, comprised of five senators and five House members, is charged with studying children's issues, as well as the implementation and outcomes of health insurance programs for children.

High on the list of topics is Child Care. Specifically, the committee will explore:

1. Child Care Licensing. Study child care licensing in Kansas. Review whether the present system is providing the flexibility to meet the needs of working parents, while protecting the safety of children in Kansas. Review the estimated need of child care slots as compared to available child care slots.
Also study:
(1) increasing the number of before school and after school children allowed when more than one adult provider is present;
(2) adjusting regulations which apply to siblings as they contribute to the total
number of children allowed over five years of age when there is more than one adult provider present;
(3) increasing the number of children allowed over five years of age when there is more than one provider and one of the providers is a certified teacher or a pediatric or registered nurse;
(4) encouraging the expansion of the role of schools, cities, and counties in operating child care facilitiesfor the community if no state funds are involved;
(5) expanding the role of schools, cities, and counties in operating child care facilities if they meet Kansas Department of Health and Environment standards; and
(6) offering tax or other business incentives to individuals or businesses which are interested in starting child care facilities or upgrading to certain high child care standards.

Kansas Child Care Providers Together will be involved in providing to the committee information from the perspective of providers. CCPT will be tracking closely the progress of the committee as they hold hearings.

(Wichita, KS) - Nearly one hundred child care providers and many members of their families gathered on August 16 & 17 to hold a founding convention for statewide local union, Child Care Providers Together (CCPT). The convention was the culmination of twenty months of intensive outreach and organizing by child care providers in all corners of the state of Kansas. Providers began banding together in January 2007 to speak with a common, powerful voice.

Delegates to the founding convention achieved a number of important milestones, including the adoption of a local union constitution and the nomination of officers and trustees for the local union.

In addition to doing important business related to their local union's founding, the child care providers present also participated in a variety of training workshops and took part in convention-wide discussions about the way forward.  Workshop topics included training on communication tools for local unions, political and legislative advocacy and models for building an effective representational union.

Kansas CCPT, having provided the basis for a new AFSCME local union with its founding convention, will continue to expand as child care providers around the state build their own power.

Learn more about Kansas Child Care Providers Together here.

(California, MO) - Members of AFSCME's Missouri Council helped make a happier weekend recently for families of National Guard service men and women who are deployed overseas.  Through charitable giving, AFSCME members provided twenty-five tickets for a June 7th Rodeo in California, Missouri to the spouses and children of Mid-Missouri troops who are currently serving the country on forsign shores.

The charitable giving represents the desire of public workers and union members to recognize the sacrifice of members of the military by reaching out to their families.

"AFSCME's Missouri members appreciate the service of their friends and neighbors.  Helping the families of deployed Guard members enjoy an event like the rodeo is just a small measure of our appreciation," said staff representative Eric Moore.

(Kansas City) – Correctional employees at the Jackson County Detention Center, represented by AFSCME Local 1707, are implementing a new labor agreement that includes a number of terrific advances for county employees. The new agreement makes critical advances in conditions identified by Corrections employees as in need of improvement.

Ratified last month, one of the new agreement’s most notable upgrades is the provision of a Union-leased parking lot that may be used free of charge by all bargaining unit employees of the detention center. With the opening of the nearby Sprint Center last year, parking for detention center employees had become a significant problem. That problem was solved by Local 1707, however, by bargaining for a county-paid subsidy that covers the cost of a Union lot.

Additionally, the new agreement includes greater protections for staff “drafted” to perform non-voluntary overtime shifts. Any employee who is held over for longer than 15 minutes after his or her shift must now be moved to the bottom of the draft list for subsequent days, per the new agreement. For the first time, the new labor agreement also includes benefits for domestic partners of Jackson County Corrections employees.

“The new contract in Jackson County negotiated by President Jesse Morgan and his team represents a big leap forward for jail employees. Every member of Local 1707 ought to be very proud of what they’ve done,” said Jeffrey Mazur, Council 72 Administrator.