‘No More 24!’ – Protestors demand Cuomo end round-the-clock workday for home care workers (New York: insurance, homes)
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On International Women’s Day Monday, protesters rallied at the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire site, demanding an end to 24-hour workdays that thousands of homecare workers have been enduring in New York throughout the COVID-19 pandemic through the “Ain’t I a Woman” campaign.
Exemplifying exhaustive working conditions, protesters assembled at 25 Washington Place on Monday afternoon, in the shadow of the site of the infamous 1911 fire where unsafe, sweatshop working conditions led to the death of 146 garment workers.
Speakers cited the deadly 1911 blaze as an example of abused workers who lost their lives due to the negligence of an unsympathetic boss — something they say is symbolic of the current scandal Governor Andrew Cuomo is facing.
Many speakers pushed for elected officials to support legislation that will require those who work 24-hour jobs to be able to have non-sequential split shifts. Protesters shared that these homecare workers are given two choices, work the 24-hour shift or do not have a job.
Protesters shared that these homecare workers are given two choices, work the 24-hour shift or do not have a job.
So they chose to work that job and are now complaining about the hours
EMT's work 24 hour shifts. My friend was one. She eventually got sick of the hours and left. Pretty simple solution. She didn't get on her ambulance with a group of other workers, making noise and protesting. She didn't like the hours so found a new job that had hours she liked.
Seriously is this what society is becoming. Complain and protest about everything. Take no accountability for your life decisions and choices
Healthcare workers don't need to put up with that. They should be able to be to find a better paying job and less hours at McDonald's. AOC is fighting for our rights to $22/hr at McDonald's.
With maybe a few exceptions, it's dumb and counterproductive to have ANYONE at ANY job working a 24-hour shift. No one's work quality is any good at that point. I wouldn't want anyone looking after any elderly relative of mine for 24 hours straight.
If people didn't object to oppressive working conditions, we'd still have seven-year-olds working 18-hour days 7 days a week in firetraps. Why should only businesses get to act in their own interests?
With maybe a few exceptions, it's dumb and counterproductive to have ANYONE at ANY job working a 24-hour shift. No one's work quality is any good at that point. I wouldn't want anyone looking after any elderly relative of mine for 24 hours straight.
If people didn't object to oppressive working conditions, we'd still have seven-year-olds working 18-hour days 7 days a week in firetraps. Why should only businesses get to act in their own interests?
Nursing assistants and home health aides that provide care in domestic setting are hired and placed with understanding that while in home for "24 hours" they aren't on duty entire time. That is they are supposed to be sleeping or otherwise not actively caring for their charges 12 or whatever hours of a shift.
In old days nurses and support staff worked eight hour shifts in hospitals/nursing homes; 7-3, 3-11, and 11-7, or 8-4, 4-12, 12-8.... Now almost universally nurses and others work 12 hour shifts for three days instead of five eight hour shifts for full time work.
When it came to private duty/home care obviously having shift changes several times per day of a nurse or assistant just isn't feasible. So they went with 24 hours again with understanding that assigned nurse or assistant would have several hours off the clock.
Where this all breaks down is fairly often families confuse nursing home help with domestic maids. That is if patient needs something during night or whatever, they expect the aide or nurse to get up and deal with things.
Also you have patents today being cared for at home who not that long ago would be in a nursing home or hospital receiving skilled nursing care. Things have moved away from that model in favor of outpatient/in home care. So you have patients who aren't sick enough to be kept in hospital or placed in skilled nursing facility, but still require round the clock care, or at least where nursing assistant or whoever can respond quickly even at night.
This all comes down to what it always does; money. The staffing agencies who provide these home help/nursing assistants bill and are paid by Medicare, Medicaid, and insurance companies one figure, but that amount isn't what workers are paid.
The agencies argue that reimbursement rates from some programs or insurers are so low that they cannot pay higher wages and remain viable. OTOH federal and state governments along with insurers also cry poor mouth and don't want to pay more either. Both sides argue that if home care becomes too expensive things will revert back to old ways, patients will simply go back to being kept in hospitals or sent to nursing homes/skilled nursing facilities.
On the last bit not every insurance or whatever health plan covers in home care, or has restrictions on amount of days allowed. IIRC Medicaid is probably one of the largest providers but also has one of the lowest reimbursement rates.
People who can afford to hire "the best" home health aides as usual have access to care on a different level. Saw one male nursing assistant in starched whites (right down to his shoes) out with an elderly gentleman on UES. Know of several families that have round the clock nurses (usually LPNs), and nursing assistants. All in uniforms and seemingly not bothered by working conditions including hours. That tells me they are making what they consider good money.
What a bunch of selfish people on this thread. I know people who work in the industry and it's not so easy as just getting another job. Life happens. When you have children (one or two, for instance), older family members, etc., it's not easy to advance yourself to get another career. We ought to be looking at solutions for these people who sacrifice so much. I know one thing they definitely sacrifice is their back. Most of the lifting is done by women...
I won't go into it but this industry is unique in that it is severely lacking in protections from the federal government. Wage suppression is a thing as their wages have hardly moved over the past 10 years. I'm curious as to what's going on in DC that's contributing toward this. I hear all the time of the demand that's needed for these workers, yet many are paid $15 an hour or less. When I was in GA, I heard of people earning $11 an hour as a contractor, not even an employee.
With maybe a few exceptions, it's dumb and counterproductive to have ANYONE at ANY job working a 24-hour shift. No one's work quality is any good at that point. I wouldn't want anyone looking after any elderly relative of mine for 24 hours straight.
If people didn't object to oppressive working conditions, we'd still have seven-year-olds working 18-hour days 7 days a week in firetraps. Why should only businesses get to act in their own interests?
This literally sounds like a form of slavery to me, which isn't shocking due to the profession's history. I agree with you. I honestly think the 24-hour thing sounds like some oppressive boomer thing that needs to go.
This literally sounds like a form of slavery to me, which isn't shocking due to the profession's history. I agree with you. I honestly think the 24-hour thing sounds like some oppressive boomer thing that needs to go.
Some of you need to educate yourselves.
By NYS law home health aides are compensated for thirteen (13) hours out of a twenty-four (24) hour shift. This is pretty much same in all fifty states.
Again main reason why is that home health aides in majority of situations are paid for directly or indirectly by Medicaid or other shared federal/state funded programs. New York state could change laws requiring aides be paid for entire 24 hour shift, but then it would have to pick up those costs. New York already has the highest Medicaid costs in country and spends more than nearly all fifty states. This includes California who has a larger population on Medicaid than New York.
This being said courts warned both state and healthcare agencies that provide home help aides that the 13 hour rule only applied when they kept their end of bargain; aides are to have at least five hours of uninterrupted sleep, and three one hour meal breaks.
If above is not followed then upon verification aide is entitled to be paid for each of those 24 hours.
Live in healthcare workers for the elderly and disabled tend to be available 24/7. So do they expect people to have more than one live in caretaker instead?!
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