IN-HOME CARE PROVIDERS TAKE OVER THE COURTHOUSE TODAY: THEIR FIGHT FOR HIGHER WAGES CONTINUES

EUREKA, CA- The fight for a pay raise continues for In-Home Care Workers. Today they rallied at the Humboldt County Courthouse to mark the one-year anniversary of the ‘Have a Heart’ campaign.
 
It’s been over a year of protest and rallies, and IHSS workers are still making minimum wage. However, they tell us they will not stop until they get their 75-cent raise. Kathy Sobilo, an In-Home Care Provider told us, "Every excuse they give us we fight back with an answer and they keep coming up with more and more excuses. And we are just sick of it. We want to settle this."
 
Sobilo is on the front line when it comes to protesting. She added, "We come to the meetings every single week. Every Tuesday we are here… every day I would just tell them how hard it is to be a home care worker and what we do."
 
In a press release back in September the county publicly declined a pay raise for the IHSS workers. Citing cuts to public safety would have to be made. But Humboldt County Supervisor Rex Bohn says the county wants what’s best for all their staff. Bohn added, "The public authority board is designating negotiators for the purpose of interacting with the IHSS workers."
 
But for now IHSS workers and activist will continue to fight. We asked In-Home Care Worker, Margaret Lewis why she just doesn’t quite? Lewis responded, "You just can't quit on people. Who's going to help that person if you don’t? Who going to go fix her dinner when she can't get up out of her bed?"
 
IHSS workers have compromised by dropping their health care demand, but they will not stop until they make more than minimum wage.