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Committee hears SEIU contract‑matching bill for home care workers; amendment adopted
Summary
Senate File 2640, authored by Sen. Aaron Mayquade, would match funding language for a tentative contract with SEIU home care workers, increase certain rates, fund training and an online matching service, and establish groundwork for a defined contribution retirement structure. The committee adopted an A1 amendment and laid the bill over.
Senate File 2640, a bill to match the funding language and program changes in a tentative contract for SEIU home care workers, was presented to the Minnesota Senate Human Services Committee on March 26.
Sen. Aaron Mayquade, the bill sponsor, said the measure would invest in pay increases affecting programs that include PCA Choice, Community First Services and Supports (CFSS) budget model, Consumer Directed Community Supports (CDCS) and the Consumer Support Grant. Mayquade told the committee the contract covers more than 38,000 workers and would invest about $70 million in the upcoming biennium, with $30 million as one‑time funding and additional amounts in the tails. He described key provisions: a 40‑cent‑per‑hour raise for certain experienced workers, an increase in the enhanced pay percentage for clients who need more than 10 hours a day (from 7.5% to 12.5%), $250,000 for training and language access, and $1.5 million for an online matching service to connect workers and clients.
Monica Flavin, testifying for SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa, described personal and workforce effects: she said the contract “gives me hope,” described how improved pay and a matching service could allow some caregivers to hire outside help and return to their prior employment, and called for continued legislative support. SEIU representative Rick Varco explained that because ratification is no longer required, the committee’s role is to fund the negotiated contract rather than to ratify it.
Committee members adopted an author’s A1 amendment offered during the hearing. After some discussion about committee jurisdiction for a retirement‑related provision — members asked whether the pension commission or state and local government committees should review it — the chair and sponsor agreed to consult further. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in later work as the committee reconciles jurisdictional and fiscal questions.
Sponsor and witnesses emphasized the bill’s intent to address long‑standing workforce shortages and inequities for a predominantly female, disproportionately BIPOC home care workforce. Mayquade said the contract “continues to make necessary improvements in our home care workforce and their elderly and disabled clients who need these services.”
