On April 16 the Solidarity leadership council decided to endorse to the home healthcare workers who had been on hunger strike for the first part of the month in their continuing efforts to put a stop to their super exploitative working conditions.
They want the city council to pass legislation forces their bosses, the home care agencies and insurance companies to end their super exploitative working conditions.
These workers are mostly women, many of them elderly and predominantly immigrants from China, Haiti, West Africa and Latin America. Earlier in April they ramped up their fight with an occupation camp of sidewalk by city hall in Manhattan and a hunger strike.
Last week and the following week Kiran Chaudhuri came to our meeting (April 23) to explain how the hunger strike had been suspended in the wake of an agreement from Julie Menin that should would allow the No More 24 bill to come before the council for deliberation.
Kiran is active with Aint I a Woman and the Labor Solidarity project of the UFT Retired Teachers Chapter.
There are powerful interests arrayed against these essentail health care workers. Many insurance companies are controlled by private equity that push back mightily when their profit margins are threatened. Another factor is the cooptation of ertswhile militant unions like 1199 which have developed a preference for lobbying and back-room deals. With this approach the home healthcare have been losers year after year.
The Solidarity council will be updating you on the progress of this campaign. In the meantime visit the No More 24 website for actions you can take.