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Caregivers urge Siskiyou County to adopt $1.10 IHSS wage supplement to avert shortages
Summary
At the April 21 board meeting, IHSS caregivers and SEIU representatives urged the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors to adopt a fact‑finder recommendation for a $1.10 hourly supplement, saying low pay is driving a caregiver shortage that threatens in‑home care for hundreds of residents.
Leticia Guerrero, speaking for in‑home supportive services (IHSS) workers, told the board that "Siskiyou County is the only county in California that pays IHSS workers minimum wage" and urged adoption of a fact‑finder recommendation for a $1.10 hourly raise.
Guerrero said low pay is causing a caregiver shortage and "it's threatening to save people with 530 elderly and disabled residents, leaving them with unused hours for care," and argued that adopting the recommendation is "not just a budget decision. It is a safety decision to prevent our most vulnerable neighbors from being forced into expensive, unsafe institutions." The speaker said much of the funding for a supplement would come from state and federal sources, not solely the county.
Monica Verneidis, a SEIU Local 2015 member and former IHSS provider, told supervisors she was seeking a county IHSS contract and repeated the call for immediate relief, saying higher gas prices and lack of a contract are making it harder for caregivers to serve clients. "We are the only county in the entire state that doesn't have an IHSS contract, and we are still only getting paid minimum wage," Verneidis said, urging the board to "do the right thing and adopt this recommendation."
The comments were part of the meeting's information‑only public comment period; the board did not take action on a wage supplement during this session. The speakers provided specific workforce figures (about 470 workers providing care to roughly 530 residents) and pressed the board to finalize a wage supplement and a contractual framework to retain and recruit IHSS providers.
