Marin Voice: County needs to raise wages for in-home health workers
The words of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter ring true.
“There are only four kinds of people in the world — those that have been caregivers, those that are caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregivers,” she said.
As leaders of the Marin Organizing Committee, we agree. We hear stories of people from congregations and nonprofits across Marin: Everyone has one about caregiving. Each story we heard revealed the depth of the brokenness of our caregiving economy. These accounts, and our own experiences, have compelled us to act.
Caregiving work is skilled and dangerous. These same workers were applauded nightly during the pandemic for their willingness to show up at a time when there were no vaccines, when we had no idea how coronavirus spread, when they couldn’t find masks or gloves to protect themselves.
Despite the courageous work that was so deservedly cheered back then, many of these essential workers are currently paid less than fast-food workers.
We have a caregiver shortage. In doing our research, we came to understand why. In-home supportive services (IHSS) caregivers, who take care of our most vulnerable neighbors, are paid only $16.95 an hour.
In a county with as many resources as ours, this is unacceptable. The recent Marin County Civil Grand Jury report agrees this is an insufficient wage. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology estimates that the actual living wage for a single person in Marin County is over $26 an hour. California’s state auditor estimated an even higher living wage for Marin in February of 2021: $31 an hour.
No matter which report you pick, $16.95 is not a true living wage for Marin; it is a poverty wage.
Marin’s population is the oldest county in the state; 28% of our residents are over 60 years old. Current projections suggest that may rise to 33% by 2030. Another way to think of it is that the first baby boomers will be 80 in three years. Demand for caregivers will only rise as our county continues to age, but we are ill-prepared to meet that demand without taking decisive action now.
The Marin Operating Committee is glad to see IHSS wages going up in the county’s proposed 2024-2025 budget. But even at the proposed $18 an hour, they will still earn less than most entry-level jobs in our county.
Just as critically, we will be competing with other counties to attract caregivers. San Francisco is already over $19 and will raise their IHSS wage to $25.50 over the next few years.
If Marin falls behind, we will lose caregivers to competition with the city and other Bay Area counties that pay more, especially once the cost of tolls and gas for Marin workers living elsewhere are factored in.
Clearly, we are already in crisis. Facilities, hospitals, agencies and individuals are all desperately seeking these health care workers to meet the caregiving needs of disabled people and dependent older adults. If we fail to offer a competitive wage, we will start to lose the caregivers we have.
Finally, it is a matter of fairness. Our most vulnerable neighbors deserve to have the best care possible, delivered by skilled and capable individuals. These professional caregivers should be able to focus on just one job. Why would we not value and properly compensate these healthcare workers?
At the very least, Marin County officials should take full advantage of federal and state contributions, leaving no funding on the table.
Marin supervisors have the responsibility to fund a more equitable wage for IHSS caregivers in Marin. We ask them to raise the wage.
Ruth Vosmek is on the board of the Marin Center for Independent Living and works in health care. Lauren Vreeland-Long is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Marin and a physical therapist with years of experience working alongside caregivers in nursing facilities. Both are leaders with the Marin Organizing Committee.