Law signed by Governor Newsom, which will enter into force in 2020, seeks to protect wages and benefits for workers
In front of dozens of child care providers and parents, Governor Gavin Newsom was recognized for the recent victory by signing AB 378, better known as the Law on Building a Better Early Care and Education System.
This rule, which will take effect on January 1, 2020, supports child care providers; that is, those who have a child care business – which are mostly women – to form a union and bargain collectively with the State of California.
From the Watts Labor Community Action center, located in South Los Angeles, Newsom thanked the work of child care providers and said they understand the hard work they do since he has four children.
“I appreciate the sacrifice that each one of you makes every day. We talk about how important your work is every day to care for and support our young children, ”praised the governor.
It should be noted that these people, who have a childcare center in their home or other place, look after minors whose parents are beneficiaries of subsidies from the state to pay for this program.
Many of these places choose not only to give care and food, but also to buy games or educational books for the little ones.
That is why Newsom said that when it comes to the gap in the education of children, it is not specifically about the achievements (that they reach) but rather a time-building gap.
“Children are entering the backward garden because we do not value their work (of caregivers), we do not value childcare. Today that is changing in the state of California thanks to all of you. ”
Newsom said that by the age of 4 the children's brains are 85% trained and they must have spoken an average of 45 million words.
However, where there are not enough resources, the average word for a child at the age of 4 is 13 million.
He kept his word
Newsom thanked the workers and trade unions for following him until he fulfilled his campaign promise to support them in this fight.
The law signed by the governor on September 30, and written by Assemblyman Monique Limón, will allow suppliers to have a seat at the table to negotiate situations that affect their profession. These could include a better payment for their services, caregiver education, health benefits, among others.
Leonarda Albarrán Rodríguez arrived yesterday from the city of Santa Ana to witness the historic moment where caregivers joined the governor to celebrate access to better early education for children and a better salary for them.
“I take care of eight children and they pay me little but I know they need love, affection, understanding and warmth because their parents work all day. Then I'll take care of that, ”said the woman, who like dozens of women proudly wore her yellow shirt. "I have worked on this for 11 years and I really like it."
Lilia Salgado arrived from the city of Watson, in northern California, to confirm that the governor's promise during his campaign was fulfilled.
“He is very humble and very good governor. He told us that he was going to help us and he has complied, ”said Salgado, who was the worker chosen to present him at the event.
She added that she has taken care of children for more than 10 years and that this job allowed her to leave the fields where she worked as a farmer.
However, although she considers that she has a slightly better job, the low salary does not allow her to have the quality of life she wants or access to resources for the children she cares for, which are usually 12 to 14 children.
"With this law we are seeing that it is the strongest labor protection for child care providers," he said.
For 16 years, they struggled to pass this law, which is now expected to benefit more than 40,000 child caregivers.
Mary Kay Henry, president of the International Service Employees Union (SEIU) thanked Governor Newsom as an ally, since in the past they had failed in their attempt to pass the law.
“We are proud to have an incredible partner and a governor who sees us and understands us since some caregivers have to have two to three jobs to make ends meet,” said Henry.
In his speech, Newsom also took pride in saying that California is the most diverse state.
"We do not tolerate diversity, (if not that) we celebrate diversity every day," he said, seeing the faces of women caregivers, who in almost most cases were women of color.
