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Minnesota home care workers have reached a tentative agreement for a new union contract with the state.

According to a statement from the union, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa, the agreement includes wage increases for some workers. It also commits to exploring health care options, and pathways to a retirement program.

Union members hope changes bring more people to the industry, as it 

Jeremy Heyer has had home care workers for more than twenty years, helping him and his wife with household tasks. Both have forms of muscular dystrophy. Heyer was part of the bargaining team. He said he’s cycled through lots of workers, and heard from several who left the job because they couldn’t make ends meet on their wages.

“They definitely put all their hearts and sweat into the work and really help make sure that myself, my wife, and others like us are very well taken care of,” Heyer said. “Unfortunately, that type of work also takes a toll on their bodies, and they also have to be able to support themselves, support their families, put food on the table.”

One big win in the contract, he said, is a commitment to create a retirement program. The union says the agreement commits to building a pension fund that employers and employees will pay into. 

It will take time for that pension to get off the ground, but SEIU organizer Tyler Frank said the agreement commits to taking the first steps.

“A pension doesn’t just pop up… but the agreement that we have is to build it,” Frank said.

Care workers have been pushing for a path to retirement. Minnesota will be among few states to create a retirement plan for home care workers, Frank said. 

Health care benefits could improve under the tentative agreement, too. It includes a commitment to explore options before the next round of contract negotiations. It would also create $1,200 stipends for workers to put towards out-of-pocket health care costs. 

“Health care is such an issue with all of our care workers,” Heyer said. “Not only is the state committed to trying to find a health care option that we can look for in the future, but even in the meantime we have been able to at least put something supplemental on the table.”  

The union, representing 35,000 workers in Minnesota, formed in 2014. This is its sixth contract. Frank said the health care and retirement benefits go beyond what the union has been able to get in the past.

“This is just the first time in home care workers’ experience in this negotiating process that we have been able to celebrate something other than just wage increases,” Frank said. 

Union members still must vote to ratify the agreement before it goes to the Minnesota Legislature for approval and funding.

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Estelle Timar-Wilcox

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Minnesota home care workers have reached a tentative agreement for a new union contract with the state. It includes a commitment to build a retirement fund and explore health care options.

Pill bottles are shown, with a health care provider talking to a client.

Home care workers reach tentative contract agreement with state

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