South Shore Chamber Issue Brief

September 14, 2011

Unionization of child care service workers

Two proposed laws before the state legislature pose a threat to child care in Massachusetts and an ugly precedent for all Massachusetts small businesses.  If successful, thousands of employees and even some small business owners will find themselves swept into unions without any vote, using a card-check system reserved to public employees.   

The South Shore Chamber of Commerce is fighting these two proposals to create statewide union representation for child care workers; one focuses on workers (including owners) in child care provided in someone’s private home and another on workers in child care centers such as a YMCA or private business that provides these services. 

The proposals target providers who receive state money for low income children.  The providers will be treated as state employees for collective bargaining purposes.  This will allow formation of the union through “card-check” and make a state agency rather than an employer association the employer side of the bargaining table.  The union and state will negotiate state subsidy rates, wages and training requirements.  There is no distinction made between child care businesses owners who manage and those who also provide direct services.  In many cases, especially home based child care, the business owner is self-employed and actively working as a direct provider as well.  This means the union will be representing the owner of a business.

Why Chamber members should care

The bills create some dangerous precedents for small businesses that could be used to force union membership for other independent contractors and small businesses in other industries.   Among those concerns are:

• a presumption of state interest in unionizing private employees who working in private settings but provide a service to people who receive some public assistance  

• the union will  bargain with a state agency, not the actual employers or employer associations.

• unions will be moving from the traditional role of representing workers to now representing business owners in negotiating rate reimbursements on state contracts

• the unions and state will negotiate training and education requirements for service providers, creating a sweetheart deal of forcing large numbers of people to buy union sponsored professional development courses

• continued state and federal efforts to aggressively promote unionization and increase union membership among small businesses

• a backdoor attempt to organize unions through card-check rather than the traditional secret ballot elections

• the state will be required to pay a fee to the union for the unions efforts in in professional development, in addition to individual membership/ agency fees paid to the union

• employees who are already members of a union will be required to be part of two unions:  the statewide group and the union representing their specific center.

You can make a difference

You can help make a difference.  The South Shore Chamber of Commerce routinely speaks up on your behalf on issues like this.   It is just as important though that your elected officials hear directly from people who live or work in their district.   It is also important to spread the word on these.   You can help by doing any of the following:

1. Share this with any owner of a day care service.   Do not assume they know about these bills.  They are being moved quietly through the process.

2. Contact your state representative or state senator.  Our advocacy on your behalf is important but it is always important for our officials to hear directly from people who live or own businesses in their districts.

1. Elections are coming up soon.  Save this Issue Fact Sheet and ask candidates about it during next year’s campaigns.

The bill on child care centers is H 1671. The two bills on home based care are H 541 and  S 28.

For more information contact:  John Stobierski at 617-479-1111 or jstobierski@southshorechamber.org.