UDW Family,
What a year it’s been already. Right from the start, we had threats thrown at us—and without hesitation, we’ve fought right back. We hammered Congress with nearly 15,000 emails and phone calls, visited their offices locally and in Washington, D.C., and made it clear: we will not stand for cuts to Medicaid.
At the time of this letter, the House of Representatives has passed one of the most aggressive, anti-working family budgets in our lifetime. This bill will force so-called “work requirements” on Medicaid recipients in an attempt to kick millions of already working families off the program.
At the same time, here in California, Governor Newsom proposed $707.5 million in cuts to IHSS over time, bringing our maximum hours down from 66 to 50 per week. These are a direct cut to our clients’ hours and to our pay. He’s also proposing freezing cost of living adjustments for child care members, who are already paid less than minimum wage per hour.
However, cuts aren’t the only threat to our community. Right now, ICE agents are entering schools, they are harassing families, and they are picking people off the streets and deporting them without due process.
At UDW, we’ve always prided ourselves on the diversity of our union: first- and second-generation immigrants, as well as our families and communities. Hardworking people who have come to this country for so many unique reasons are now having their own freedoms threatened.
Immigrant rights are human rights—and that is a core value of our union. Just as we’ve fought for our jobs and for our clients’ care, we must also fight for the rights of immigrants across this nation.
The old union saying goes, an injury to one is an injury to all—and that’s never been more true than it is now. Attacking our union siblings, threatening our families, and our communities hurts all of us. Today it’s immigrants, but tomorrow, who will it be? We must unite now and defend all human rights—or before we know it, there will be no rights left to defend.
In solidarity,
Astrid Zuniga,
UDW President
