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Parents,
Child
Care
Workers
and
Elected
Leaders
Call for
Policies
that
Support
All
Families
As
Fight
for $15
sweeps
the
nation,
child
care
workers
and
parents
lead
coast to
coast
tour to
engage
families
in call
for
affordable
care and
$15 and
a union
DETROIT
– More
than 150
parents,
child
care
workers
and
their
supporters
joined
U.S.
Rep.
John
Conyers
today at
a
Detroit
community
center
to call
for a
plan to
address
the
broken
child
care
system
that is
leaving
families
unable
to
afford
care and
workers
unable
to
support
their
families.
At a
town
hall
meeting
that was
part
rally
today,
the
group
discussed
policy
recommendations
for
high-quality,
affordable
and
accessible
care and
called
for $15
and a
union
for all
child
care
workers.
“I’m
happy to
stand
with
you,”
said
Rep.
Conyers,
who
added
that,
“we need
$15 an
hour for
child
care
workers;
we need
$15 for
everybody.”
Last
month,
child
care
workers
and
parents
from
across
the
country
and
members
of the
Congressional
Progressive
Caucus
announced
a bold
new plan
to
ensure
high-quality,
affordable
and
accessible
child
care for
every
American
family
and a
strong
child
care
workforce.
Members
of
Congress
introduced
a House
resolution
on July
28
recognizing
the need
for a
stable
and
reliable
child
care
system
and a
full-time
living
wage for
all
child
care
workers.
“I love
working
with
children,
but I’m
paid so
little
that I
struggle
to
provide
for my
own
family.”
said
Kimie
Jones,
who has
worked
in child
care for
5 years
and who
also is
a
homecare
worker.
“I need
at least
$15 an
hour not
only so
I can
make
ends
meet,
but also
to
provide
the best
experience
for the
children
I take
care of
every
day.”
In
Michigan,
a single
mother
spends
48
percent
of her
income
on child
care,
according
to 2013
data
from the
Child
Care
Resource
and
Referral
Agencies
for
Child
Care
Aware.
“Eight-fifteen
is not
enough,
let
alone
for
child
care,”
said
Alicia
Roberson,
a Dollar
Tree
cashier
who has
three
children.
“I
support
the $15
for
child
care
workers.”
At the
town
hall
today,
working
parents,
child
care
workers
and
local
leaders
discussed
policy
recommendation
for a
stronger
child
care
system
in
Michigan
and
nationwide,
as part
of a
multi-city
tour in
red and
blue
states
across
the
country
this
summer.
Working
parents
– who
provide
and who
need
child
care –
will be
continuing
their
calls
for $15
and a
union at
these
events.
In May,
child
care
workers
and
parents
in the
Fight
for $15
met with
Democratic
presidential
candidate
Hillary
Clinton
on the
need for
economic
policies
that
strengthen
the
child
care
workforce
and
invest
in
affordable
quality
child
care.
BACKGROUND
Child
care
workers
from
coast to
coast
have
joined
in the
Fight
for $15
movement
that has
swept
across
the
nation.
Most
child
care
workers
are paid
less
than $10
an hour,
and a
study by
the
University
of
California,
Berkeley’s
Center
for the
Study of
Child
Care
Employment
found
that
child
care
workers
have
experienced
no
increase
in real
wages
since
1997,
while
the cost
to
parents
for
early
childhood
care
have
grown
nearly
two-fold.
Studies
show
that 46
percent
of child
care
workers
rely on
public
support
programs,
including
food
stamps,
Medicaid
and the
federal
Earned
Income
Tax
Credit.
Earlier
this
month,
after a
Wage
Board
empaneled
by Gov.
Cuomo
recommended
a $15
minimum
wage for
fast-food
workers
throughout
New York
–
boosting
pay for
200,000
women
and men
– child
care
workers
and
other
underpaid
workers
rallied
in
cities,
including
Detroit,
declaring
“we need
$15
too.”
The
Fight
for $15
is
racking
up
victories
across
the
country,
including
$15
minimum
wages in
Seattle,
SeaTac,
San
Francisco
and Los
Angeles,
as well
as $15
for home
care
workers
in
Massachusetts.
In
California,
the LA
County
Board of
Supervisors
voted to
raise
the
minimum
wage to
$15 an
hour,
and the
University
of
California
system
announced
it would
raise
pay to
$15 an
hour for
its
direct
and
subcontracted
workers.
And a
proposal
to raise
the
minimum
wage to
$15 an
hour in
the
District
of
Columbia
was
certified
for the
2016
ballot,
while
Democratic
presidential
candidate
Sen.
Bernie
Sanders
and
members
of the
Congressional
Progressive
Caucus
introduced
a bill
to raise
the
federal
minimum
wage to
$15 an
hour.
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