When I arrived in Chicago as an elected UDW delegate to the 47th AFSCME International Convention, I carried more than a delegate badge. I carried my experience as an IHSS provider, a mother, an advocate and a UDW member from San Diego.
Inside the convention hall, thousands of delegates from across the country gathered to debate resolutions, elect international leaders and help determine the future direction of our union. We represented different states, professions and communities, but we were united by a shared purpose: ensuring that working people have a meaningful voice in the decisions affecting their lives.
For me, this experience reinforced something caregiving has already taught me: caregivers are leaders long before anyone gives us a title.
As the mother of a daughter with autism, I have spent years coordinating therapies, communicating with doctors and educators, navigating disability-service systems and advocating for the support my daughter needs. Like many IHSS providers, I have learned to remain calm during difficult moments, keep detailed records, solve problems and continue speaking up even when the process feels overwhelming.
These skills are often developed quietly inside our homes, but their value reaches far beyond them.
Caregivers understand how public policies work once they reach real families. We see where services succeed, where systems break down and how a delayed approval, inadequate resource or confusing rule can affect an entire household. That firsthand knowledge belongs wherever decisions about home care, disability services, public programs and working families are being made.
My involvement with UDW helped me recognize that personal experience can become a source of collective advocacy. I began participating in member outreach, canvassing and union activities. I also shared my family’s story before the San Diego County Board of Supervisors during our union’s fight to protect care services and strengthen our contract.
Each experience made the next one feel possible.
That is why opportunities for member leadership matter. Many caregivers may not initially picture themselves as organizers, public speakers or convention delegates. Their days are already filled with responsibilities, and leadership spaces can feel distant from the work happening inside their homes.
But leadership does not always begin behind a podium. It can begin when a caregiver challenges an incorrect decision, helps another provider understand a process, attends a union meeting or tells an elected official what families are experiencing.
The AFSCME convention showed me what becomes possible when workers bring those individual experiences together. Delegates reviewed resolutions affecting workers and their communities, listened to different perspectives and voted as representatives of their local unions. It was a powerful reminder that our individual voices become stronger when they are joined through collective action.
Participating in the convention also required practical support. Having childcare available and receiving support from my family made it possible for me to fulfill my responsibilities as a delegate. For caregivers, these supports are not small conveniences. They can determine whether someone is able to accept a leadership opportunity at all.
If we want more caregivers at decision-making tables, we must continue creating realistic pathways for them to participate. That includes accessible meetings, advance information, leadership training, family support and encouragement from fellow union members.
Most importantly, caregivers need to be reminded that their voices belong in these rooms.
As I head back to San Diego, I carry a stronger understanding of our union and a deeper appreciation for the power of representation. I also carry a responsibility to share what I learned, support the work of UDW District 1 and encourage other members to step forward.
Our stories are not separate from the labor movement. They are part of its foundation. Every day, caregivers protect dignity, support independence and hold families together. When we organize and speak collectively, that experience becomes power.
Caregiving did not take me away from leadership. It taught me how to lead—and UDW gave me a place to use that leadership alongside others.
When caregivers step forward, our entire union becomes stronger.
