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IHSS workers tell supervisors they need higher wages in next contract to afford housing
Summary
Several IHSS providers, members of SEIU Local 2015, told the Board of Supervisors during public comment that wages for in‑home supportive services are too low to afford San Joaquin housing and urged the county to back a strong union contract in upcoming negotiations.
Multiple in‑home supportive services (IHSS) workers addressed the Board of Supervisors during the Feb. 11 public comment period urging the county to support a stronger wage in the next contract negotiations. Speakers identified themselves as SEIU Local 2015 members and said low pay forced many providers to work multiple jobs and placed them at risk of housing instability.
Erica Pena Lopez said she had been an IHSS worker for a year and that she and her grandmother were evicted in 2024; the two were still awaiting affordable housing in Stockton. “Finding a safe and secure home for my grandmother and I is essential to providing her the quality long‑term care she needs,” Pena Lopez told the board, and she urged supervisors to “pass a strong union contract with higher wages for IHSS workers.”
Other speakers, including long‑time IHSS providers and union bargaining committee members, said roughly three‑quarters of IHSS workers must hold multiple jobs and that nearly half have housing trouble in San Joaquin County. They thanked the county for recent bargaining cooperation but urged supervisors to support concrete wage increases to stabilize the county’s caregiver workforce, which they said serves thousands of older adults and people with disabilities.
