Berlinda is a homecare worker and has been a proud member of SEIU 2015 for over 10 years. She is originally from Laos and has lived in the United States for over 40 years.
Homecare workers face the most scrutiny when it comes to unionizing and fighting for better working conditions. Around 6 years ago, Berlinda’s fellow members began demanding higher wages. Though they were unionized, the county of San Bernardino had not increased wages for over 10 years. She was making $9.25 an hour. Workers had to take drastic measures,
“It wasn’t easy…we marched from the San Bernardino office to the Board of Supervisors walking in the heat…what happened was that we had the Vice President and the President [of the union] come together at the Board [of Supervisors]… the people were knocking on those windows to make noises so they can hear us…that’s how much we had to go through to get the wage increase.”
Berlinda has more recently been involved in the bargaining to help raise the statewide minimum wage to $25 an hour. There are some troubles that they are facing, however,
“We need more people. We need members to be involved, you know. Not just a few, but many…we need the voice.”
Currently, there is a ballot initiative that could increase the $16 minimum wage by a mere $2. Other counties in California have already met their county level $25 minimum, like San Francisco. Education is necessary to create awareness in people that need to make informed decisions. Berlinda does this work through her involvement in SEIU’s campaign, “Union for All”
“I picked ‘Union for All’ because this is what I see in me. I wanted to give, you know, people voices that they cannot speak for themselves.”
SEIU is continuing to grow. Berlinda talks about how through her work in “Union for All” she has been able to to support Michigan, who recently lost their SEIU union. She hopes that homecare workers in every state are able to join their union and fight for their wages.
