California child care providers have voted unanimously to ratify their first labor contract with the state.
The agreement ratified by Child Care Providers United promises raises for more than 40,000 home-based providers who care for kids from low-income families through state subsidy programs.
The union announced the results in a Facebook livestream Monday night, saying 99.6% of members who voted supported the contract
“Our record speaks for itself. We get it done,” said Sacramento child care provider Charlotte Neal during the livestream. “We have an opportunity to fix California's broken childcare system. Our work is not done. We have just begun.”
Providers organized for almost two decades before earning the right to collectively bargain for better wages. Most of them are women of color — and they don’t earn much.
An example of their current reimbursement rates in L.A. County: For each infant who needs full-time monthly care, the state pays these family child care providers a maximum of $5.80 an hour.
The union says providers throughout the state will see wage increases of at least 15% starting in January.
The contract also includes $40 million for education and training, and about $3 million to encourage new providers to join the field.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of early childhood-related legislation into law last Friday, including the labor deal.
