Dear ones,
Nursing homes have been in the news because the Cuomo administration undercounted the deaths of nursing home residents “by as much as 50 percent.” In addition, it appears that some nursing home residents were treated with experimental drugs without the consent of their health care proxies.
We have the right to better options for ourselves and our loved ones. The alternative to placing people in nursing homes is to provide care for them at home. Home caregivers are paid very low wages, by any standard.
[New York] state’s highest court has ruled that it’s legal for home care workers to be paid for just 13 hours of a 24-hour shift, on the assumption that they get eight hours sleep and three hours for meals. Workers say that’s all but impossible given their duties.
Were that not disturbing enough, this week, a story broke about an city official being sued by her mother’s caregiver, who claims that she was paid just $2.29 an hour for five days of 24-hour care. This is an egregious abuse.
The Caring Majority is behind a week of action to promote fair pay for home care.
Please click here for phone scripts to get fair pay for home care in this year’s budget and make three calls today!
The $15 minimum wage is in jeopardy because of the decision of the Senate Parliamentarian that its inclusion in the budget reconciliation bill would have implications beyond ten years. This bit of mumbo jumbo from the Senate rules is another reason that we need a truly representative democracy, rather than a body designed to stymy the will of the people. Bernie Sanders explained that
because of the archaic and undemocratic rules of the Senate, we are unable to move forward to end starvation wages in this country and raise the income of 32 million struggling Americans.
Our frustration is real.
Yesterday, the House passed The Equality Act, in spite of Marjorie Taylor Greene’s sorry appeal to bigotry. The legislation, which still needs to pass in the Senate, effectively expands the 1964 Civil Rights Act to provide protections from discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
It’s time to end the filibuster.
Read this article if you need a quick explanation and history of the filibuster.
Our own Senators are not the problem, so I’m not sure what our next move is. As always, I’m taking suggestions. Now that I have vented about some elected officials who are behaving badly, let us pause to appreciate those whose commitment is genuinely in the spirit of public service.
When Deb Haaland was asked about her motivation to serve as Secretary of the Interior, she explained:
This is all of our country, this is our mother. You've heard the Earth referred to Mother Earth.
It's difficult to not feel obligated to protect this land, and I feel that every Indigenous person in this country understands that, which is why we have such a high rate of our people who serve in the military. We want to protect this country, and that means protecting it in every single way.
Her confirmation is looking more hopeful than it did at the beginning of the week, which is good for us and for our mother.
Earlier this week, Senator Corey Booker asked Merrick Garland about his motivation to accept the position of Attorney General. Garland responded emotionally:
I come from a family where my grandparents fled anti-Semitism and persecution.... I feel an obligation to the country to pay back for protecting us.
In this same spirit, The Jewish Vote, continues a tradition that began when Jews first came to the NYC city and faced bigotry. The mission is still
to demand the jobs and schools and health care necessary for all to thrive.
The Jewish Vote is a sibling organization of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ) and they have created a video to explain how Ranked Choice Voting works.
Watch The Jewish Vote’s Training on Ranked Choice Voting.
Please make those three calls to push for fair pay for home care. We have “to demand the jobs and schools and health care necessary for all to thrive.”
Have a good weekend!
with love,
L