FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 16, 2024
Contact: Daniela Perez, [email protected]
Care Can’t Wait Action Highlights the Role of Care Work in Strengthening the U.S. Economy at DNC
CHICAGO – Care Can’t Wait Action, representing one of the largest coalition of labor unions, advocacy organizations, and grassroots groups focused on care, joined elected leaders and care workers on Tuesday, August 20, for the panel discussion ‘Care Can’t Wait: Our Economy Runs on Care,’ as part of the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) programming.
The panel addressed the ongoing challenges working families face in accessing affordable, reliable, and robust care services across the U.S. Panelists discussed the urgent need for investment in care infrastructure to support both families and care workers, highlighting how policies that prioritize care will bolster the economy and support a thriving future for all Americans.
Cristela Alonzo, stand-up comedian, actress, and former nanny, opened the discussion with powerful remarks about care work’s critical role in society. She was joined by leaders from the care movement, including April Verrett (SEIU), Fatima Goss Graves (National Women’s Law Center Action Fund), Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner (Moms Rising Together), and Dawn Huckelbridge (Paid Leave for All Action), with Ai-jen Poo, Senior Advisor for Care in Action, moderating the conversation.
The panel also featured insights from leaders like Representatives Pramila Jayapal, Debbie Dingell, Jimmy Gomez, Ayanna Presley, Whip Katherine Clark, Heather Boushey, economist, and Dorian Warren, Co-President of Community Change. Care workers like Emma Biggs, a childcare center director, Dionne Davis, a former nanny turned labor organizer, and Judy A. Hunter, a home care worker and SEIU union member, shared their experiences. Throughout the panel, Poo emphasized the critical urgency of elevating our care economy.
Research shows that investing in care will strengthen the economy. The care economy, including unpaid and paid caregiving, is valued at up to $6 trillion—nearly a quarter of the total U.S. GDP. Without a robust care infrastructure, the U.S. could lose up to $290 billion annually in GDP by 2030 due to labor shortages in care jobs and the departure of workers forced to take on unpaid caregiving duties.
The panel’s timely discussion comes amid an ongoing care crisis in the U.S., which has only grown more severe since the pandemic revealed the fragility of our social safety net. By 2030, 14 million seniors and people with disabilities will need long-term care as the population ages. Meanwhile, childcare systems are at a breaking point, and the U.S. remains one of the only countries in the world without a national paid family leave policy. Over 80% of Americans want policies that expand affordable home care options, and over 82% believe caregiving should be a legislative priority.
Care Can’t Wait Action’s participation throughout the DNC underscores the importance of centering care workers in the national conversation on the economy. From child care to aging and disability care, care workers are essential to our communities’ well-being and the economy’s health. Below, you’ll find several quotes from speakers that highlight these crucial points:
Cristela Alonzo, Actress: “I was a nanny for years – I was expected to take care of 3 kids, clean a house, and do everything that was asked of me. One thing we never discuss in the care world is that we are expected to be available to do anything and everything. We do not have specifics for care. I am so proud to have been a part of the care industry. The care industry, care workers, and we are proud people. To be proud, we need to be protected.”
Fatima Goss Graves, President of the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund: “What the care movement has done is that it reminded us that care isn’t a ‘personal’ feeling. It’s a part of our infrastructure and our economy. It’s a part of our future.”
Dawn Huckelbridge, Founding Director of Paid Leave for All Action: “We can have a whole different country. I think about our care stories – many of them are beautiful, moments of joy, but many are tragic. When I became a mother, it nearly ended me, and all I could think about was that if it was this hard for me, how do people in this country survive and get by? And the truth is, many of them do not. That needs to change.”
Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director of Moms Rising Together: “We are framing our care stories as personal failures, but when we know many people face the same challenges, it’s a systemic failure. It is all too hard for any type of family to afford care. My son was born with a primary immune deficiency, and I was pushed out of the labor force because I had no paid leave. Businesses are suffering, too, because of it. The care infrastructure is also about our national economy. These are the stories of our hearts. It’s also our power. Our stories are in our hearts. Our power is in our togetherness.”
April Verrett, SEIU President: “There is something inherently immoral about not allowing our care workers to experience the wages and benefits they deserve. The reality and truth of this country is that women, women of color, and immigrant women doing this work have done this work since enslavement. Until we begin to heal, and call it out, we won’t be able to fix it. This movement about paid leave, home care, child care – it’s about the services, it’s about people getting paid what they’re worth, but it’s healing the deep wounds that exist in our country. We need to unleash the power of our workers in this movement.”
Emma Biggs, Early Childcare Center Director and Advocate: “I’ve been an early childhood educator in Charlotte, NC, for 27 years. I entered this field out of necessity as a single mom who lost my childcare voucher over a few extra cents in income. The pandemic showed just how essential we are, caring for the children of frontline workers while risking our health. Emergency funding helped, but now it’s ending, and 92,000 children in North Carolina could lose their childcare. Parents can’t pay more, and educators can’t keep getting paid less. What are we going to do?”
Judy A. Hunter, Care Worker and SEIU Union Member: “We shouldn’t have to decide between paying our bills or choosing what we can eat. I should be taken care of while I care for the ones who need me. Care workers tend to divide themselves – we put our feelings aside to take care of the things that need taking care of. This care system treats women like they are disposable. It means that a lot of young people don’t seek these jobs. We need to know that we can do this as a career and be able to afford to retire one day.”
Dionne Davis, Former Nanny and Georgia Care Worker Organizer at Care in Action: “All of us have a care story. I took care of my father until his death and then returned to being a full-time nanny. During the pandemic, I became an essential worker. During the pandemic, I cared for a Doctor’s family because his patients’ care couldn’t wait. I took care of his children because their care nor my livelihood could wait. All of us will need care at some point in our lives; care really cannot wait any longer. We are the caring majority. Our voices matter.”
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About Care Can’t Wait Action:
Care Can’t Wait Action launched in 2023 to mobilize tens of millions of Americans centering care as a winning issue for policymakers, representing one of the largest coalitions of labor unions, advocacy organizations, and grassroots groups focused on care in history. With Americans supporting new investments in care by a wide margin, the coalition has pledged a $50 million investment to mobilize tens of millions of Americans this year.
The Care Can’t Wait Action Coalition includes: ❖ AFL-CIO ❖ AFSCME ❖ American Federation of Teachers ❖ Be A Hero ❖ Care in Action ❖ Child Care for Every Family Action ❖ Community Change Action ❖ Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy ❖ Family Values @ Work Action ❖ MomsRising Together ❖ National Partnership for Women & Families Action Fund ❖ National Women’s Law Center Action Fund ❖ Oxfam America Action Fund ❖ Priorities USA Action ❖ Paid Leave for All Action ❖ Service Employees International Union ❖ Supermajority ❖ United Domestic Workers