A group of home-based child care providers who serve families receiving government child care subsidies this week moved one step closer to unionizing, the American Federation of Teachers announced Friday.
A majority of the providers asked the state’s Labor Relations Board to begin the process of certifying the union, according to the AFT. For that to happen, some sort of vote must take place, the terms of which the labor board will decide.
If the majority of the 1,300 providers votes “yes,” a union can be formed, said Heather Riemer of the AFT, which is helping the workers unionize.
The election is expected to take place in the next several weeks, according to the AFT. If successful, the union will form a negotiating committee, ratify proposals, and meet with state officials to negotiate a legally binding contract.
The move follows a law passed last session by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Peter Shumlin in June, that allows home-based early educators who provide child care services to families who receive a government subsidy for the cost of the childcare to unionize and negotiate contract issues with the state.
“We have started the process which will prove that the majority of providers want to come together and negotiate,” said Emily Creighton-Pryer, a child care provider in Bradford, in a news release. “I can’t wait to fill out my ballot with a yes.”
The workers have been trying to form a union for five years, said Kay Curtis, a home child care provider in Brattleboro.
