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Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare 775NW was formed in 2003 when home care and nursing home workers from several different SEIU locals formed a labor union focused on long-term care workers and issues. In 2007, the union changed its name from SEIU 775 to SEIU Healthcare 775NW, as part of a reorganization of its parent union, the Service Employees International Union. SEIU Healthcare 775NW now represents almost 40,000 home care and nursing home workers in Washington and Montana. Its stated mission is to "unite the strength of all long-term care workers, to improve the lives of working families and lead the way to a more just and humane world." The majority of union members are independent providers of non-medical, in-home care for disabled and elderly persons receiving Medicaid. The union also represents home care worker employees of several Washington home care agencies with State contracts to provide home care to qualified Medicaid recipients. ==History== The labor union is named after Washington State Initiative 775, the Quality Home Care Initiative, which voters approved in 2001 and which gave 23,000 Individual Provider home care workers the right to form a union in the largest union election ever held in Washington state.〔(Local News | Bargaining rights for state's home-care staffers passing | Seattle Times Newspaper )〕 The "Quality Home Care Initiative" gave long-term care providers in Washington the right to unionize and negotiate over working conditions and pay. SEIU 775's first contract with the state, ratified and approved in 2003, increased caregiver salaries, gave them access to workers' compensation protection, and provided access to health insurance to caregivers working at least half time.〔(Local News | Home-care workers ratify new contract with state | Seattle Times Newspaper )〕 Since then, SEIU Healthcare 775NW has successfully organized thousands of home care workers at private agencies like ResCare HomeCare (formerly Armstrong Home Care), Addus Healthcare, Chesterfield Healthcare, Catholic Community Services of Western Washington, Korean Women’s Association, Amicable Home Care, Unique Home Care, AAA Residential Services, DSHS independent providers and Home Care Services of Montana, winning raises and improved benefits for members. In Washington State, home care workers at non-unionized agencies under contract to provide home and community services must also be paid wages and benefits equivalent to those of union members. Since 2006, more than 1800 workers at 22 nursing homes across Washington state have joined with SEIU Healthcare 775NW, quadrupling the number of nursing home workers in the union, and winning raises of 6-14% each year. Nursing home workers are advocating for improving the quality of care through public policy and providing a voice in care delivery, and SEIU Healthcare 775NW has played an instrumental role in these efforts. Wages have improved by 40% throughout Washington home care over the last five years, as SEIU Healthcare 775NW has successfully lobbied the Washington Legislature and Governor to approve more than $400 million in wages and benefits for Washington home care workers serving publicly funded clients. Benefits include affordable health care plans which include dental, prescription drug and vision coverage, paid vacations, and wage scales with guaranteed tenure-based increases. The labor union claims that its grassroots advocacy efforts and union contracts have played an important role in increasing the number of hours of care for clients and hours of work for caregivers. In Montana, the union is promoting options for more seniors and people with disabilities receiving Medicaid to live in their own homes through in-home support services, and helped to pass legislation "Healthcare for Healthcare Workers". SEIU Healthcare 775NW is now engaged in state and national efforts on workforce development, in an attempt to recognize publicly funded non-medical home and community-based caregiving services as an "emerging healthcare profession". 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「SEIU 775」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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