1199SEIU moves to unionize 190,000 home care workers

1199SEIU moves to unionize 190,000 home care workers in NY’s Medicaid program

1199SEIU filed a formal petition Tuesday to unionize as many as 190,000 home care workers under New York’s Consumer-Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP), saying it has enough signatures for what could be the largest union drive in the country in decades. More than 70,000 workers at Public Partnerships LLC, the vendor chosen to run the streamlined $11 billion program, have already signed union cards, according to the union.

This development is the result of Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2024 overhaul of CDPAP, which replaced over 600 home care agencies with a single statewide administrator, PPL. The move sparked controversy, including a Justice Department lawsuit alleging the bidding process was rigged in PPL’s favor, a charge Hochul’s office denies. 1199SEIU openly backed the centralization, arguing that negotiating with one large employer would allow them to organize and bargain more effectively. Previously, the union represented only 10,000 CDPAP workers.

Though 1199SEIU is the first to petition for an election with PPL, new legal and political challenges could still alter the landscape, with DOJ litigation ongoing and some home care advocates objecting to the loss of small agencies. If the union certification election proceeds, the result could reshape labor standards for tens of thousands of New Yorkers. The timeline for the official election or resolution of the DOJ case has not been set.

→ The next step is a formal union certification election for PPL’s CDPAP workers; DOJ litigation over the program’s reorganization is ongoing.

(The City Reporter)

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