MEDIA ADVISORY FOR: February 27, 2015

Contact: Kaitlin DeCero, Kaitlin.decero@seiuhcil.org

National Media: Bartees Cox, bartees.cox@berlinrosen.com

Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, State Legislators to Join Chicago Home Care Workers in Call for $15 and Home Care Services for All

Chicago Town Hall Meeting One of 20 Taking Place Across the Country as Home Care Fight for $15 Spreads

(Chicago) – Home care workers are expected to pick up key support for their Fight for $15 and home care services for all who need them from Illinois elected officials at a town hall meeting Saturday, February 28, at SEIU Healthcare Illinois.

Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, State Senators Daniel Biss and William Delgado, and State Representatives Mary Flowers and Christian Mitchell, representatives from Access Living, the Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans, academics, and home care worker leaders from across Illinois will attend the town hall meeting, which comes as a report from the National Employment Law Project shows paying home care workers $15 would generate between $3.9 billion and $6.6 billion in new economic activity.

 

WHO:              Illinois home care workers, Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, State Senators Daniel Biss and William Delgado, State Representatives Mary Flowers and Christian Mitchell, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana Assistant Professor Marc Doussard, Access Living, the Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans, seniors, people with disabilities

 

WHAT:            Home care workers, seniors, people with disabilities, academics, and lawmakers call for $15 an hour and home care services for all who need them during town hall meeting

 

WHERE:          SEIU Healthcare Illinois

2229 S. Halsted Street

Chicago, IL 60608

 

WHEN:            Saturday, February 28 at 10:30 a.m.

 

WHY:              Governor Rauner’s proposed budget cuts would decimate the home care programs that Illinois seniors and people with disabilities count on to live independently at home. Home care workers, home care recipients, lawmakers, and allies are coming together to demand an investment in home care, and highlight the benefits for our communities, our families, and our economy. Town hall attendees will call for $15 an hour for all home care workers, and access to services for Illinoisans who need them.

Recently released reports from the National Employment Law Project (NELP) and the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI), highlight the impact that poverty wages have on home care workers, consumers, and the general economy. Research points to the same conclusion that Illinois stakeholders have: now is the time for investment in home care, not drastic cuts.

America’s elderly population is growing at record levels and one million new home care workers will be needed by 2022 to meet demand. Raising home care wages will stabilize the industry, and is an essential step forward if our nation is going to meet the long term needs of the workforce and our aging population.

 

VISUALS:        Over sized Fight for $15 pledge cards lawmakers will sign on to in support, graphs and pie-charts with home care facts, Fight for $15 signs

 

 

***Photos, individual interviews, and video clips available upon request post-event, email Kaitlin.decero@seiuhcil.org

 

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