UDW Responds to Gov. Newsom’s May Revise: Budget Shortfalls Must Not Fall on California’s Families

The United Domestic Workers of America (UDW/AFSCME Local 3930)  emphatically oppose Governor Newsom’s Proposed cuts and policy changes that will have a disproportionate and damaging impact on home care and family child care providers—most of whom are women of color living paycheck to paycheck supporting California’s most vulnerable communities.

“It is appalling that in the fourth-largest economy in the world, Governor Newsom would attempt to balance the state’s budget by cutting services for children, seniors, and people living with disabilities and taking money out of the paychecks of their care providers,” begins Doug Moore, UDW Executive Director. “California’s population is aging and it is also getting poorer, and cutting the most vital resources to that population not only impacts lives today, it sets us up for failure in the future.”

“Proposing to reduce overtime and travel pay for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) will have immediate consequences for home care providers—not only reducing their pay, but also limiting the hours of care they can provide to their clients. Overtime cuts will take away life-saving care from children, seniors, and people living with disabilities.”

“This budget also follows the federal government’s lead on targeting undocumented people in our state,” Moore continued. “Removing undocumented people from IHSS won’t help balance the budget – it will only devastate working families and force those needing the most support into costly, institutionalized care.”

“We urge Governor Newsom and lawmakers to find a better way to offset the horrible impacts of President Trump’s policies on our state’s budget and to ensure that the most vulnerable don’t pay the steepest price.”

Home care providers aren’t the only workforce feeling the impacts of higher tariffs and policies that are impacting the state budget.

“For decades, family child care providers have cared for the children of working families to ensure they can go to work and provide for their families, even as the costs of providing child care continue to rise,” added Johanna Hester, UDW Deputy Executive Director and Co-Chair of Child Care Providers United (CCPU). “The proposed budget fails to acknowledge and account for the need to pay child care providers the true cost of care, now, and further widens the gaps in pay for providers with proposed suspension of the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA). This proposal is a devastating blow to both providers and parents who are already struggling to make ends meet. These providers are already vastly underpaid, and this decision will only deepen the child care crisis in California.”

“If we continue to underpay child care providers, they’ll be forced to cut back on subsidized care–and families who depend on this care will be left scrambling or be forced out of the workforce.”

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About UDW/AFSCME Local 3930:
UDW represents more than 200,000 dedicated home care and family child care providers across California. Our members are the backbone of care for seniors, people with disabilities, and working families—fighting for fair wages, better working conditions, and policies that strengthen our communities.