AFSCME Council 93 applauds the decision by SEIU to withdraw from the home care worker union election in Vermont. Their decision means that the more than 7,000 home care workers can now focus on working with AFSCME to secure better wages, benefits and training that will make them even better caregivers than they are now. This is a victory not only for the workers, but for the thousands of individuals and families who rely on them for quality care.

For more than two years now, AFSCME has been working hard to organize these dedicated and compassionate workers. We led the fight to successfully pass legislation that provides them with long-overdue collective bargaining rights. It is only fitting that we become the union to lead them and their families to a brighter future through the collective bargaining process.

I want to thank the leaders of the SEIU for making this decision, which is clearly in the best interests of the home care workers and the entire labor movement. I also want to thank our International President Lee Saunders and our International Secretary-Treasurer Laura Reyes for the commitment they made to this historic campaign. Finally, I want to thank the volunteer member organizers (VMOs) and staff from Council 93 as well the VMOs and staff from AFSCME affiliates across the country who spent countless hours in Vermont educating the home care workers on the benefits of forming a union with AFSCME.