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For thousands of DORS Personal Assistants across Illinois, July marks another major milestone in our union’s history. 

Effective July 1^st, 2026, the base wage for DORS Personal Assistants is now $20 per hour under our union contract. 

This victory represents decades of organizing, advocacy, and collective action by Personal Assistants who stood together through our union to demand the respect and compensation care work deserves. 

Remaining Wage Increases for Personal Assistants (PAs) Under the Current Union Contract (Expires June 30, 2027).

Date	Hourly Wage	Amount of Increase
July 1, 2025	$18.75	$.50
January 1, 2026	$19.50	$.75
July 1, 2026	$20.00	$.50
January 1, 2027	$20.75	$.75

Seniority Raises

As a reminder, our paystubs now include new columns that indicate total or cumulative hours of work. This tells us which milestone level we have reached and how much of a seniority raise we are eligible for. Here’s how they’re calculated:  

Milestone	Hours Worked	Rate Add-on (Extra Pay per Hour)
0	0 – 9,999	Not eligible
1	10,000 – 19,999	$1 per hour
2	20,000 – 29,999	$2 per hour
3	30,000 or more	$4 per hour

Thanks to this new raise and the seniority add-on, our most veteran PAs are making $24/hour! 

These milestones are based on 10,000-hour thresholds. For example, a DORS worker who has averaged 40-hour work weeks for 5-years will meet the milestone for 10,000 cumulative service hours and get a $1/hour seniority add-on to the base wage, which will bring their hourly rate to $21/hour. 

“We fought hard to make sure that our years of service are acknowledged and rewarded in our pay, and this will help Personal Assistants stay in the profession!”  — Judy Hunter, DORS Personal Assistant & SEIU HCII Executive Board Member

While we are proud to celebrate this achievement, our work is far from over. 

The $20 base wage is an important step in our ongoing fight for $25 and beyond. As the cost of housing, groceries, transportation, and healthcare continues to rise, Personal Assistants deserve wages that reflect the essential services we provide every day. 

Next year, we return to the bargaining table to negotiate our next union contract. This round of negotiations will come with new challenges, including threats to future raises and healthcare funding resulting from the Trump Medicaid cuts.  

We need to win more progressive revenue sources in next year’s legislative session to put us in the strongest possible position during bargaining. 

The outcome of those fights will have a direct impact on the resources available to support home care services and those of us who provide them. 

That’s why we need every DORS Personal Assistant to stay engaged, take action, and do their part to build the power of our union.