PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Three weeks after Governor Chafee signed a controversial new law allowing more than 580 child-care workers to unionize, a local arm of the Service Employees International Union is seeking to represent the group.
SEIU District 1199 filed a petition Aug. 6 with the state Labor Relations Board, seeking the right to bargain on behalf of home-based daycare providers in negotiations with the Department of Administration over "reimbursement rates and other economic matters,'' including benefits.
The labor board requires the filing of "cards of interest'' signed by at least 30 percent of those seeking to affiliate with a union.
There was no immediate response to inquiries from the labor board about the number of cards of interest that were submitted along with the petition.
But labor board administrator Robyn Golden said the new law requires the board, "upon the filing of a proper petition for representation of [the child- care] providers," to conduct a secret-ballot election.
Chas Walker, the SEIU 1199 organizer who signed the petition, said in an email: "Over 500 family child care providers have signed cards indicating they wish to form a union with SEIU 1199 and work together to improve quality, raise up their profession, and ensure that young children get a strong foundation for a lifetime of learning.
While the new law does not bestow state employee status on the home-based workers, it provides them with bargaining rights previously reserved for state employees - such as mediation and, if necessary, arbitration.
Subsidized child- care is available in Rhode Island for children under age 13 in families with incomes below 180 percent of the federal poverty level, which currently stands at $23,550 for a family of four.
In the fiscal year that ended June 30, the overall taxpayer cost for subsidized child-care in Rhode Island was $53.2 million, with $13.6 million going to the daycare providers who look after an estimated 2,170 children in their own homes.
Most of the licensed home-daycare providers - 555 of the 579, as of July 17 - were receiving state subsidies. By late July, the number of licensed providers had grown to 582.