In 2024 we successfully passed another rate increase thanks to our advocacy efforts in Springfield. Our contract with ResCare contains a re-opener agreement that stipulates the company must negotiate with us over any new funding that becomes available, so we forced them back to the bargaining table to make sure as much money of that new funding as possible went to our workers.

Our new agreement includes progress on several key priorities including:

• A $1/hour raise for every DSP,
  
• Increased the Payment in Lieu of Benefits (PILOB) rate for those who choose it, and
  
• Improves Paid Time Off (PTO) benefits beyond the legal minimum under state law and includes entitlements to buyout for unused PTO.

See below for a full summary of our agreement. If you have any questions, you can contact your union rep, JoAnn Musgrave, at (618) 316-8462. You can also call our Member Resource Center at (866) 933-7348 with any questions.

SUMMARY OF TENTATIVE AGREEMENT

Rescare/Brightsprings and SEIU HCII

Wages

• Effective January 1, 2025, increase the new-hire rate to $17.50.
  
• Effective January 1, 2025, increase all employees’ wages by $1.00/hour.
  
• Include reopener language ensuring the right to bargain over increases to wages/benefits in the event of future rate increase.
  
• Include language allowing interim improvements in wages, premiums, bonuses if business conditions necessitate.

Paid Time Off

• Secure employees’ rights to benefits of the Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act (“PLAWA”).
  
• Secures and updates employees’ entitlement to accrue and use PTO above and beyond the PLAWA, including entitlement to buy outs for unused PTO.
  
• Secures employees’ right to pay in lieu of benefit, if they choose, and increase compensation to an additional $.75/hour.
  
• Ensures that workers will not be required to find their own coverage when using PTO, except for no-notice call-offs after exhaustion of 40 hours of PTO designated PLAWA leave.
  
• Increases certainty of scheduling and reduces mandated work on Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas by limiting the number of employees who can use no-notice call offs under PLAWA during those holiday weeks and ensuring pre-approved scheduling of PTO at those times.

Hours of Work and Overtime

• Requires the Company to offer overtime/extra work opportunities to DSPs within the home office/home area on a voluntary basis before offering such work to DSPs from another office/area.
  
• Excuses an employee from a “back up day” if they are mandated to work or voluntarily selected additional open shifts during a month and worked those shifts.

Term of Agreement

• January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2027.