Wash. House approves child care unionization
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Some child care workers could get collective bargaining rights under a bill passed by the House on Monday.
The bill passed on a 65-31 vote and is now headed to the Senate, which is already considering a similar measure.
The House bill allows child care workers to unionize if the day care or school they work for accepts state subsidies for low-income children.
Union membership could be compulsory if the majority of workers at child care facilities that accept state money in a certain region vote to unionize. The bill contains certain exemptions. For example, day cares operated by nonprofit agencies or Indian tribes could be free from unionization efforts.
Democrats say unionizing child care providers would improve the overall quality of care and education that low-income children receive.
Supporters of the measure said child care facilities often have a lot of turnover because wages are very low and allowing day care workers to negotiate a fair salary will reduce turnover and increase the level of professionalism in the industry.
Child care workers who choose to unionize would bargain with the state, but they would not be considered full state employees. Consequently, they would also not be eligible to negotiate retirement benefits.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Eric Pettigrew, D-Seattle, said the issue was very personal because he attended similar day cares growing up in south-central Los Angeles.
"When I go into the day care centers in my district I see a lot of young and struggling parents ... and the teachers and the directors, they are all about helping the kids," Pettigrew said.
But Republicans were quick to criticize the measure, saying the bill is not about providing good child care, but about growing the size and power of big labor.
Republicans noted that, as is, the Legislature sets subsidy levels for day cares in the state. Allowing day care workers to unionize merely creates a middle man; if the Legislature wants to raise salaries of child care workers, the Legislature should vote on a subsidy increase, they said.
"The issue here is not collective bargaining. The issue here is proper subsidy," said Rep. Gary Alexander, R-Olympia. "We don't need to spend $1.4 million for a collective bargaining arrangement to do that."
