Travis Woodward, President of Civil Service Employees Association Service Employees International Union Local 2001, joined the AWF Union Podcast to discuss a childcare crisis in Connecticut and the need to pay childcare providers a livable wage and good benefits.
Woodward explained that over half of Connecticut workers live in a childcare desert, which is defined as an area where there are either no licensed childcare providers available or more than three times the number of children than the total capacity of the providers.
In Connecticut, there is a governmental childcare program, which helps alleviate some childcare deserts. However, he said most of the childcare providers earn approximately $8.50 per hour with no health insurance. While the program is helpful, Woodward acknowledged the reason why there is a childcare desert is due to poor wages and lack of benefits. Local 2001 is currently in negotiations to try and fix the problem.
Woodward then discussed the privatization of the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Private companies from outside Connecticut are currently taking the jobs that cannot be performed due to a lack of trained engineers employed by CTDOT. Local Union members, he said, are being passed over for these jobs, which are going to outside contractors.
Finally, he shared the need for paraeducators, or teacher assistants, to be integrated into the educational system. He spoke about proposed legislation a coalition of organized labor, working in conjunction with the School Paraprofessional Advisory Council, is pushing state legislators to pass. The legislation seeks to improve the pay and benefits of paraeducators, and most importantly, fully integrate them into the educational system.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more about these topics.