Thirteen years after then Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder took away their union rights, Michigan home care workers have voted by a margin of 73% in favor of joining together in SEIU Healthcare Michigan, the largest health care union in the state, to build a unified voice to reshape essential home care jobs, according to a news release from SEIU Healthcare.
The election of nearly 32,000 Michigan home care workers, conducted by the Michigan Employment Relations Commission, is the largest union election victory in the Midwest since auto workers organized in the 1940s. The organizing victory is also among the largest in the history of the Service Employees International Union. The Michigan caregivers add their voice to nearly 800,000 home care workers united in SEIU across the United States and Canada.
In anticipation of the long-awaited election results, on Thursday morning, dozens of home care workers, care recipients, and SEIU Michigan members marched around Cadillac Place where the secret mail ballots were being counted.
“This is a proud day for Michigan. If anyone needs a union, it’s home care workers. When the union was stolen from us, I was devastated. But I didn’t lose hope. I knew we would reclaim our union one day — and that day has finally come.” said Phyllis Pride, a home care worker from Ecorse. “This all happened because we took a stand: home care workers and the people we care for deserve better. We deserve respect and dignity. That starts with a union. Together, in SEIU Healthcare Michigan, we can now build the long-term care system Michigan deserves.”
The home care workforce – predominantly women, people of color and immigrants – provide care like bathing, cooking, toileting, and assisting with mobility so Michigan’s parents, grandparents and loved ones with disabilities can remain at home and in their communities. Despite this essential, compassionate care, Michigan’s Home Help caregivers are paid only $15.88 an hour after receiving their first raise in 12 years in October 2024. Without basic benefits, like health insurance and paid time off, home care workers face the difficult choice of remaining in the jobs they love or looking for other, higher-paying work, adding to a potential statewide shortage of 170,000 home care workers.
“Many people’s introduction to home care comes with a family member — a child with a disability, an aging parent, or a sudden illness or injury. We put our lives on hold to care for a loved one, often giving up a good income, health insurance and a stable future,” said Michael Ewing, a Grand Rapids home care worker who cares for his mother and two other clients. “We do it because we love our families, and we stick with it because we love helping others. But love can’t pay the bills. Thank God we have our union.”
Today, in the face of efforts by extremists to roll back labor rights and deepen racial and economic inequality, Michigan home care workers have shown what is possible when workers choose solidarity over division and hope over fear.
“Winning our union sends a clear message that home care workers will no longer work in the shadows of our communities,” said Erika LaFountain, a caregiver from Jackson. “We know our worth. We won’t be divided. And we’re part of a movement of working people across this country demanding good union jobs so we can take care of ourselves, our own families and our communities.”
