Unanimous Vote Will Provide Wage Increases, Benefits, and Full Union Membership

Earlier this week, direct-care workers with CADES Residential Program in Delaware, Chester, and Bucks counties held a vote on their first-ever union contract. These workers fought to unionize their group homes with SEIU Local 668 back in 2019, and their inaugural negotiation team has been working for nearly a year to create their first contract.

This negotiation team worked tirelessly for many months, battling with CADES management to achieve an overall wage increase of 12.5% over this first contract, implement healthcare cost controls, provide clear, concise overtime and scheduling language, and secure a voice in the workplace through newly established Labor-Management Committees.

“Salaries have been stagnant,” Bucks County worker Frederick Ocansey explained. “CADES really needed a union for the employees, so that [we] can have a say in the affairs of the organization” he declared.

The bargaining unit, consisting of more than 200 direct-care workers based in nearly a dozen residential homes, voted unanimously to accept this first contract.

“We’re incredibly proud of what was achieved by the CADES bargaining team,” SEIU Local 668 president Steve Catanese said on Friday. “Many of these workers have been doing this work for years but weren’t earning a living wage. They are essential workers, and the services they provide to those in need, every single day, can take a toll mentally, physically, and emotionally on them. They, like so many other workers in Pennsylvania, deserve to be justly compensated. SEIU 668 members at CADES are excited to share news of their first contract so other direct-care workers can see what’s possible to achieve when you choose to form a union and have a seat at the table.”

SEIU Local 668 is incredibly proud of the CADES negotiation team, and we’re excited to celebrate the ratification of their first-ever union contract. We know this is just the beginning for these workers, and we hope their efforts will encourage fellow direct-care workers to unionize their workplaces.

To learn more about starting a union, please visit https://joinseiulocal668.tumblr.com/.