A few weeks ago I wrote about Gov. Dannel Malloy issuing Executive Order 10 which calls for establishing a Personal Care Attendant Quality Home Care Workforce Council which calls for documentation of “approved” home health care aides, and also provides for unionization of those aides.
The Democratic-controlled legislature debated establishing this council during the last session and decided that it was not a wise move. So Malloy issued an Executive Order establishing the council anyway, which is his prerogative, but many in the Legislature believe it was a slap in the face to those – including Democrats – who don’t think it’s a good idea.
One of the most vociferous of those critics is Sen. Joseph Markley R-Southington, who with Rep. Rob Sampson R-Southington has scheduled a public hearing on the issue on Nov. 10, at 10 a.m. in the Legislative Office Building.
Markley told CTWatchdog that a bill which would have established the council died in the full legislature because of “Democratic discomfort” with it, and “it may be vulnerable to legal challenge.”
Malloy’s order comes exactly at a time when advocates for the elderly and disabled are working to move a significant number of Connecticut residents – up to 5,000 – out of care institutions and into family or community care. Many of the people currently living in Connecticut nursing homes or other care facilities are on Medicaid with monthly costs well above $12,000 per patient.
That figure would be drastically lowered if the effort to return some patients to home care is successful, but critics of the Home Care Workforce Council say the effort to unionize independent home care workers would reverse that trend.
Markley is considered one of the most conservative Republican’s in the Legislature and two decades ago was the main opponent of a state sales tax. Markley said the public hearing next week has bipartisan support and opposition to the order also comes from organizations such as the National Federation of Independent Businesses and the National Right to Work Foundation.
A primary objection to the executive orders, Markley sand Sampson said, is that they “pave the way for personal care attendants and child care workers to form unions, and to negotiate salaries and benefits with the state without the consent of those with disabilities.”
Markley said Malloy’s decision to issue the executive order could be a tragedy “For disabled people who live an independent life with the help of personal care assistants. … With state assistance – but at a cost less than that of institutionalization – they have taken control of their circumstances, and make arrangements directly with their staff. The last thing either the clients or the caregivers need is a big union and intrusive government interfering with that relationship.”
Markley also addressed the issue of day care workers, saying “Connecticut can increase reimbursement rates for Care4Kids without collective bargaining. This unilateral move by the governor is not about improving care for children or increasing rates for providers.
“The goal is to expand SEIU’s dues paying membership by redefining who a state worker is, ” Markley said. Sampson and Markley say they question the Malloy’s constitutional authority to issue these orders.
Speakers at the public hearing will discuss how the governor’s Executive Orders affect workers and people with disabilities who are the employers. Speakers will also tackle how these executive orders could impact the personal care attendant and child care industries, as well as Connecticut’s overall business climate.
The public also is invited to attend and sign up to comment. Sign up is in the lobby of the LOB. For more information, contact Rep. Sampson’s office at 800-842-1423 or Sen. Markley’s office at 800-842-1421, ext. 0381.
