FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 6, 2024
Contact: Daniela Perez, [email protected]
Care in Action Celebrates Selection of Care Champion Tim Walz as Kamala Harris’s Vice Presidential Pick
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Care in Action, the political home for women of color who care, enthusiastically supports Vice President Kamala Harris’s selection of care champion, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, as her running mate in her presidential campaign. As advocates for care workers and working families, we recognize the critical importance of this election in shaping the future of caregiving, childcare, and working family support in this country.
Like Vice President Harris, Governor Walz has been a consistent care champion throughout his career. In 2023, he signed legislation to increase wages and support thousands of home care workers. His 2024-25 budget proposed waivers, HCBS rate increases, and higher budgets for consumer-directed community supports. He also launched a program in 2023 to improve wages and benefits for Minnesota childcare providers and early educators and announced the state’s largest-ever funding round for childcare grants in 2024.
Hillary Holley, Executive Director of Care in Action, released the following statement:
“Care in Action, the political home for women of color who care, enthusiastically supports Vice President Kamala Harris’s selection of care champion and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate in her presidential campaign. As champions of care workers and working families, we recognize the critical importance of this election in shaping the future of caregiving, childcare, and working family support in this country.
Vice President Harris has consistently demonstrated her commitment to working families and women of color throughout her career. Her dedication to these communities is reflected in her policies and actions as Vice President, where she has worked tirelessly to prioritize caregiving and support systems for families.
Like Vice President Harris, Governor Walz has steadfastly advocated for care workers. He has championed legislation to increase wages and support thousands of home care workers, raise HCBS rates, and boost budgets for consumer-directed community supports. In 2023, he launched a program to improve wages and benefits for Minnesota childcare providers and early educators, and in 2024, he announced the state’s largest-ever funding round for childcare grants.
In stark contrast, the Trump-Vance ticket has shown a blatant disregard for the urgent issues facing women, caregivers, and working families. On August 1, 2024, the Senate GOP blocked the expansion of the Child Tax Credit, a critical measure to support families, with Senator and Vice Presidential hopeful JD Vance notably skipping the vote. This move underscores their lack of commitment to the needs of working families.
Shortly after Vice President Harris announced her intention to run for President, Care in Action’s worker endorsement committee – composed of house cleaners, nannies, and care workers – unanimously endorsed her for President. In her first speech as a Presidential candidate, Vice President Harris made the care pillars central, stressing the need for affordable health care, child care, and paid family leave as part of her vision for the country’s future. Combined with Governor Walz’s commitment to the care agenda, we are confident that under a Harris-Walz administration, prioritization of working families and the care agenda will continue, building on the successes achieved during the Biden-Harris Administration.
The U.S. faces a growing care crisis, with an aging population and insufficient care infrastructure. Care workers, predominantly women of color, are undervalued and underpaid, with median annual earnings for direct care workers at just $23,688. Despite the high demand for care workers, they struggle with low wages and poor working conditions. Almost 90 percent of the home care workforce are women, the majority of whom are Black women, other women of color, and immigrants.
Polling shows that voters overwhelmingly support policies that are part of the Care Can’t Wait Agenda. For example, 84% of voters support expanding affordable home care options, allowing seniors and people with disabilities to receive needed care in their homes. The Harris-Walz ticket understands this universal need and is committed to addressing it effectively.
This November, women of color and a growing care electorate will turn out in record numbers to cast their ballots for Vice President Harris and Governor Walz for President and Vice President; they have our backs, and we will have theirs. Together, we will build a future where every family has the support they need, and care workers are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
Care in Action, a 501(c)(4) organization, was founded in 2016 at the request of domestic workers who knew they needed to build political power to advocate for dignity and fairness for this workforce.
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Care in Action is the policy and advocacy home for women who care, working on behalf of more than two million domestic workers and care workers across America. Among the fastest-growing sectors in our economy, domestic workers are also among the most vulnerable and undervalued. As a mostly women and majority women of color workforce, this growing constituency consistently and overwhelmingly supports progressive values in American political life. Learn more at www.careinaction.us.