In Massachusetts, family child care providers are uniting in SEIU to:
Resources and Links for Child Care Providers:
Ensuring access to quality early childhood education is one of the best ways to invest in our future. Doing so provides our children with the educational foundation necessary to succeed in school and life, and it also allows working families to enter the workforce with the peace of mind that their children are being educated in a safe environment.
That’s why we, as working families and family child care providers, are supporting the Senate version of the FY’14 Budget for early education and care. The Senate budget provides more subsidies for income eligible families and creates a rate reserve for early educators — and decision-makers on Beacon Hill need to hear from the parents and providers who are impacted by this important legislation.
Want to learn about what’s happening at our contract bargaining? Attend a regional meeting near you! The following regional meetings have been scheduled in the upcoming weeks. More meetings will be taking place in other areas and we will announce them as they are scheduled.
If you are interested in attending a meeting that doesn’t have an address or location listed, please contact the organizer listed or Isabel Gonzalez: igonzalez@seiu509.org.
Thanks to the hard work of family child care providers across the state, the Commonwealth’s Department of Labor Relations has certified their union with SEIU Local 509. We’re overjoyed to welcome over 3,000 providers into our union!
Dozens of child care providers in Massachusetts celebrated a victory seven years in the making Friday when Gov. Deval Patrick formally signed legislation allowing them to collectively bargain. They were joined at the Massachusetts State House by President Mary Kay Henry, Local 509 President Susan Tousignant and state administrators.
“This is the moment that all providers of family child care around the state have been waiting for,” said child care provider Elizabeth Morales. “This law gives us the voice and support that we all need to keep on fighting for what we believe is just and to continue improving the quality of early education and care.
More than 4,600 family child care providers in Massachusetts now have the right to collectively bargain with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In the upcoming weeks, it is anticipated that a strong majority of family child care providers will file with the Massachusetts Department of Labor to become members of SEIU Local 509.
We’re excited to announce that the bill that will give family child care providers a strong voice in early childhood education has passed through the House and the Senate. The bill has now been sent to Governor Patrick’s desk, and he will sign the bill shortly.
For the last eight years, family child care providers in Massachusetts have been working to pass the bill, H.3986 – An act relative to early education and care by family child care providers, that will grant them the right to organize and collectively bargain with the state. Now it’s time for providers to come together and make the changes we want to see in our early childhood education system.
“I’m so happy that after eight years of hard work that this bill has actually passed,” said Michelle Rubin, a family child care provider from Greenfield. “Giving providers a voice is a great step forward for our kids, and now we’re ready to work together to put the needs of children first in our early childhood education.”
The first step in the process is for providers to sign union cards showing the state that they’re committed to collectively bargaining with the state. Once a majority of providers have signed cards, we will present them to the state’s labor board, and then we can begin the process of negotiating our contract.
As part of the Department of Early Education and Care’s Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grant, WGBH TV is working with child care providers around the state to develop a series of modules for family child care providers to use in developing their curriculums and teaching programs. Called the “Digital Hub,” the program will consist of lesson plans, interactive games, and instructional videos for providers to use.
In the video segments, WGBH wants to portray real family child care providers teaching children, and we’re looking for providers who want to be model teachers int hese videos. This is a great opportunity for providers to share their experience and work with each other to improve all Family Child Care programs state-wide.
If you are interested in participating or have any questions about the program, please click here to contact Melanie L’Etoile, a family child care provider in Greenfield who is working with WGBH to coordinate the project.
On March 22nd, a number of Family Child Care providers from around the state took to the State House to talk to legislators about the importance of our bill. Lissette Lapaix, a provider from Jamaica Plain, and Barbara Martin, a provider from Mattapan, wrote about their experiences at the State House:
Lissette Lapaix:
Hi, my name is Lissette Lapaix. I have been a provider in Jamaica Plain for 16 years. On March 22nd I had the opportunity to visit the State House with three of my Child Care children and a group of other providers. We visited Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz and our state representative Elizabeth Malia. The providers and children in my group wanted to remind them that our bill, that will allow us to form a Family Child Care Union, came out of the committee of Children and Families and is now in the House of Ways and Means, and to ask for their support on this bill.Lissette Lapaix (right) and other providers at the State House
My children were very impressed with the grandiose building the State House is. Theo Kushmerek, 4 years of age, was especially impressed when he saw Senator Chang-Diaz dressed in yellow outfit; it is his favorite color. When she approached us, we had an animated conversation with us and then sat on the floor to pose for pictures with us. All of us enjoyed the experience. I was so happy that Senator Chang-Diaz was so approachable and made our visit that much more memorable. Sibu, Senator Chang-Diaz’s aide, was kind enough to take pictures for their Facebook page, which I was able to obtain and forward to all my Child Care parents through e-mail.
I am not sure if politics is supposed to be this fun, but our visit to the State House was awesome.
Barbara Martin:
I am a Family Provider from Mattapan, my name is Barbara Martin, and I was part of lobby day on march 22nd, where Family Providers came together to speak out in support of forming our Union. To me, it was a wonderful experience where were able to send a message to our representatives of what our profession needs; to have a voice in early education. I also had the opportunity to speak with representative George Ross, and he was very supportive. He showed a special interest and listen to us. He was very positive in the fact that he understands what people need to better themselves. He worked in many non-profits organizations in the past and I feel this gives him a great perspective in supporting the needs of our community. It was refreshing and hopeful to have spoken to a representative. This meant a lot to me. Now that our bill came out of the committee of children and families, it showed the Family Providers can get this done by coming together. We have worked for a long time, we will keep on fighting, and we will reach more Providers to make our cause stronger by working as a United front.
Overall it was a great experience to meet other Family Providers that feel the same as me in support of our Union. We spoke out as a family, we learned along with the children, and more importantly we came closer as a group. My husband of 35 years wrote a beautiful tune that we taught the other Family Providers and children to get our message across at the state house, and we all enjoyed it:Learning the Pass the Bill song.
Pass the bill, the child care bill,
Pass the bill, beacon hill.
House and Senate, don’t delay,
Pass the bill, right away!
Photos from our Lobby Day
Family Childcare Providers that have been working with SEIU Local 509 are now one big step closer to having their union recognized by the state.
Last week, the bill that would grant them this recognition (Senate Bill 28) was reported out of committee and is now on to the State House of Representatives. With a final push from Local 509 members, we can make sure that these more than 3,000 providers have the right to form their union and join us in Local 509.
Isabel Frias and Celina Reyes with Elizabeth Warren
Joseph Kennedy: He is a candidate for Congress. Following the legacy of his family in MA but he is still very conscious of the hard work that has to be done and he knows that he will need more than just his last name to win!
At this forum, I was able to realize that Joseph Kennedy is a young man who is capable of doing the work, is very mature, knows how to reach his community, and recognizes the importance of the Hispanic vote. For me, it was very surprising that his first words to the group were in Spanish! I feel very proud that the politicians of the future are taking the time to learn my language. I wish him the best of luck in his candidacy.
Elizabeth Warren: Harvard Law Professor. Well prepared person who has the tools to keep molding the future of education for our young children. She seems very accessible to her community and I even had the opportunity to take a picture with her! I wish her good luck in her candidacy.
Marisa DeFranco: She is an expert in immigration law and has offered her services free of charge to her community. In this matter, she has understood the feeling of our youth that are waiting for immigration reform so that they can reach their dreams of going to college. Much luck to her.
Family Childcare Providers meet with DEEC Commissioner Sherri Killins at the SEIU Local 509 office.
