Senate committee advances bill to fund SEIU tentative home‑care contract, adds training and matching services

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Senate Human Services Committee on Wednesday voted to advance legislation that would pay for a tentative contract agreement covering thousands of home‑care workers and add several programs intended to shore up the home‑care workforce.

Senator Aaron Mayquade, the bill’s author, told the committee Senate File 2640 "invests $70,000,000 this biennium to fund the tentative contract agreement for these SEIU home care workers." Mayquade said that of that biennium total, "$30,000,000 is one‑time funding" and that there is "about $55,000,000 in the tails." He said the bill would extend the rate increase to nonunion providers outside the SEIU bargaining unit so the same funding change applies across related programs.

The bill covers four programs and the workers who provide those services: PCA Choice, the Community First Services and Supports (CFSS) budget model, Consumer Directed Community Supports (CDCS) and the Consumer Support Grant. Mayquade said the contract would cover "over 38,000 workers" across the programs.

Nut graf: Advocates and committee members said the proposal aims to address wages and workforce shortages that affect care for elderly and disabled Minnesotans. Lawmakers adopted an author amendment (A1) on the floor and then moved the bill forward to the next committee step for additional review.

Key provisions and details

- Pay and rates: The tentative agreement includes "40¢ per hour raises for a subset of experienced workers" in PCA Choice and CFSS models, and it raises the enhanced pay rate for consumers who require more than 10 hours of care per day from "7.5% to 12.5%," according to Mayquade.

- Training and language access: The bill adds $250,000 to existing training programs and to expand language access, a point Mayquade emphasized when discussing workforce bottlenecks.

- Holiday pay and matching service: Mayquade said the contract establishes holiday pay for work performed on Christmas and directs $1,500,000 to a proposed online matching service intended to help workers and clients find each other.

- Retirement planning infrastructure: While the contract does not immediately fund a retirement benefit, it "lays the foundation for a defined contribution retirement program," investing $350,000 to create a joint state‑union body that would be the vehicle for a future defined‑contribution program, Mayquade said. Any future benefit and funding would require negotiation and legislative approval.

- Scope and application: Mayquade said DHS would calculate the rate increases for PCA Choice and the CFSS budget model and that the same rate increases would be applied to traditional PCA and CFSS agency models. He emphasized the bill would not legally require providers to spend the money on wages, but the increase "goes directly to the providers and can be used to improve wages and benefits." He also noted the contract covers an "open shop" bargaining unit: "No member of the bargaining unit is required to pay dues or join SEIU. But all contract benefits are available to all members of the bargaining unit without regard to status."

Voices from the workforce

Monica Flavin, who testified to the committee as a home‑care worker and union member, described the personal impact of the pay changes. "This contract gives me hope. The pay raise and the bonus will help," Flavin said, adding that a matching service "could help me find more reliable caregivers." She identified herself as testifying on behalf of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa and described caring for family members and working longer hours at lower pay than earlier in her career.

Committee action and next steps

The committee adopted the A1 amendment and later moved the bill forward. Senator Mayquade moved that Senate File 2640, as amended, be recommended to pass and referred to the Committee on State and Local Government; the motion carried with a voice vote. The bill will proceed for further review in the next committee.

Ending: Supporters say the measure is a targeted response to staffing shortages and to increase pay and training for home‑care workers; opponents or skeptical members asked questions about fiscal targets and committee jurisdiction during the hearing. The measure's funding figures cited by the author — $70 million in the biennium, $30 million one‑time and about $55 million "in the tails" — were presented as estimates and tied to budget pages included in members’ packets.