Caregivers, advocates urge Gov. Rauner to sign living-wage bill
AFSCME members, families and community agencies delivered thousands of postcards on August 17, urging Gov. Rauner to sign HB 5931, which sets a $15 base wage for direct support personnel (DSPs) who care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in nonprofit agencies.
The deadline is looming for Rauner to act on legislation passed in May, which would address the workforce retention crisis for community disability services. Employee turnover continues to escalate as vacancies are ever harder to fill. It’s widely recognized that low wages are the cause.
“The average DSP in Illinois is paid less than $20,000 a year for full-time work … that means half of DSPs and their families have to seek public assistance to make ends meet,” said Sen. Heather Steans, a champion for the living-wage bill. “DSPs care for our most vulnerable while our community-based system crumbles around them. We must raise wages now.”
Erica Hall, a DSP at Ray Graham Association for 14 years (left), told reporters how much she loved her job, and how the low wages impact her family.
“I do this work because it’s rewarding,” Hall said. “But I have to work 70 hours a week to support my three-year-old son. I want to be there for my family and the people I care for at work. I need better pay so I can do both to the best of my ability.”
DSPs across the state have joined forces with the community-based agencies that employ them and the family members of the individuals they serve to urge Rauner to support caregivers, build a stable workforce and preserve quality of services for people with disabilities.
“We don’t have enough staff to ensure the best possible care for people with developmental disabilities,” Trinity Services CEO Art Dykstra told reporters at the press conference. “This system is very vulnerable and the people who depend on it are suffering.”
The fight for $15 is still an uphill battle and no one believes the governor’s signature will come easily. But the state’s policy of paying poverty wages to caregivers has Illinois out of compliance with a court order to ensure access to community care.
Something must be done and AFSCME members are determined to keep fighting for what’s right.
For more information, watch this powerful video.
