Home and health care workers march to the Department of Labor and Employment demanding better wages

DENVER — It has been seven months since Colorado Care Workers Unite (CCWU), a group of frontline health care workers and an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union Local 105 (SEIU Local 105), asked the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) to form a wage board to address industry-wide issues like livable wages and affordable healthcare. After no response, the group marched to the CDLE on Thursday, August 12, demanding change.

“Seven months ago, we all signed a petition to have a wage board put together so that our health care pay could be re-evaluated. A lot of the health care workers don’t even make living wages, and we’ve been the heroes,” said Jessica Broadbant, a mental health outreach worker who commutes from Idaho Springs to Nederland for work.

“We’re saying, ‘Put your money where your mouth is and help us make a living,’” Broadbant added. “And they’ve done nothing.”

Broadbant, who holds a bachelor’s degree, told Rocky Mountain PBS that she makes the same wage as her 17-year-old who works at Subway, the sandwich chain. She, like many other health care workers at Thursday’s march, has worked through the COVID-19 pandemic.

The wage board, which the CCWU gathered over 300 signatures for, would bring in stakeholders, health care companies, lawmakers, and health care workers to reassess the home care industry—from wages to safety standards. 

“Under Colorado law, it is the right of workers to petition the state of Colorado to investigate issues in their industry. Today was about care workers who have waited seven months and have not heard back from the state,” said David Fernandez, the communications director for SEIU Local 105. Fernandez hopes that the action today will result in a response from the CDLE.

“This was after 18 months of working through a pandemic, with all these crises happening. Time was up,” Fernandez added.

In response to Thursday's march, Rocky Mountain PBS reached out to the CDLE for comment. A spokesperson sent the following statement:

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) claims that they delivered a successful petition for a state investigation and the convening of a wage board, yet no investigation has taken place. In actuality, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) has been holding recurring meetings with SEIU since the fall of 2020 about their request that the state of Colorado convene a wage board concerning home care workers' wages. In those meetings, CDLE has kept the group informed about the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics’ (DLSS) ongoing investigations into wage practices in the home care industry, spanning multiple employers, and we are pleased to have had helpful cooperation from workers and labor organizers alike in that field. CDLE continues to keep SEIU updated on its progress, and has reiterated that DLSS is wrapping up its investigation into the merits of SEIU’s specific complaints. DLSS’s review is nearly complete, and is already set to be issued in the coming weeks.

"This was a day specifically about care workers wanting to see action and they haven't seen action in seven months," Fernandez said in response to the CDLE's statement. "It is true there have been meetings, but care workers specifically want to see a wage board happening. We haven't heard anything formal that a wage board is going to be called where workers have a voice at the table. We're standing strong with the folks that were out there today."

According to health care workers at Thursday’s protest, there are not enough workers in the industry, and many of the ones who are working through the pandemic aren’t receiving livable wages or access to affordable healthcare. 

“We’ve called, we’ve emailed. We’ve done all the things so now we’re showing up in person to make sure our voices are heard,” Cody Jakubowski said, who has been a homecare worker for eight years. “The care industry is in crisis...there’s more people who need care than there are caregivers.”

At Thursday’s march, Jakubowski, Broadbant and dozens of workers and community organizers marched down Welton Street, chanting “care can’t wait!” and “wage board now!” before entering the CDLE building on 17th street. 

Bernicia Ofori, a certified nursing assistant (CNA), has been working two or more jobs since becoming a CNA in 2009. Before the pandemic, Ofori was working four jobs to make ends meet. 

“It’s tiring and stressful,” Ofori said. “Everybody needs healthcare, in some way, shape, or form. It’s usually the older population” Ofori said. “These lawmakers are acting like they’re not going to get old one day and need healthcare.” 

Ofori luckily hasn’t been infected with COVID-19 while working through the pandemic, but she said if she did, she probably would have to work through it to survive. 

“If I get sick, I’m screwed,” she said. “But not them.” 

Victoria Carodine is a digital content producer for Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at victoriacarodine@rmpbs.org.