WHEREAS:

            AFSCME members have invested significant financial, time and people resources to organize family child care providers across the country in more than a dozen states over the last decade; and

WHEREAS:

            Family child care (hereinafter FCC) providers have joined AFSCME in at least fourteen states under local names such as Child Care Providers Together, Child Care Providers United, Child Care Workers Together, and VOICE; and

WHEREAS:

            There is a potential pool of membership of more than 130,000 family child care providers in those states; and

WHEREAS:

            FCC providers want to organize because they are one of the most highly state-regulated small businesses in the country, subject to the laws, rules and regulations of several federally-funded and state-administered programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the Child Care and Development Fund, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program, needing representation at the local, state and federal levels; and

WHEREAS:

            FCC providers, as AFSCME members, share much common ground with AFSCME’s public employee members and with AFSCME’s private employee members; and

WHEREAS:

            FCC providers, as members of AFSCME, are unique in that they are self-employed small business owners, with and without employees, helpers, substitutes and volunteers on their payrolls; and

WHEREAS:

            FCC providers and other Independent Providers organized under AFSCME share many common struggles, obstacles and opportunities; and

WHEREAS:

            FCC locals have grown beyond the “new union organizing model,” to become leaders and activists engaging in the day-to-day work of our district councils, our local affiliates, and our International Union, yet are also non-traditional bargaining units; and

WHEREAS:

            AFSCME FCC providers know best what FCC providers need and are committed to building membership and engaging the members in the work of our FCC locals, AFSCME district councils and local affiliates to assure our union is democratic and member-driven, and desire to assume more active roles in our union, and should be our voice representing the FCC membership of our union.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

That AFSCME International and its affiliates recommit to FCC union locals and members through the following means; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That AFSCME International will hire, fill a vacant position, or appoint a current member of its staff, charging her/him with the goal to improve the facilitation and coordination of family child care locals and members, to better direct the organizing, educational, political and legislative work of AFSCME relative to family child care; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:

That AFSCME International will convene regular meetings (in ­person or by audio/video conference) with the already-established AFSCME National Family Child Care Advisory Team, comprised of leaders appointed by each FCC child care local, including every state in which there is an AFSCME family child care union, with the purposes of: improving communication and support between our FCC unions and our International Union, empowering FCC unions in taking a more active and direct role in our union, building a member-driven FCC union, and to assist our FCC locals and our councils, upon request, including but not limited to the following endeavors:

• determine best-practice organizing models and state-specific strategies;
• assist locals and affiliates to grow membership through organizing and by broadening the scope of child care organizing;
• initiate child care organizing campaigns in states where opportunities exist and complete current organizing campaigns where feasible;
• assist locals to obtain fair share;
• assist locals to obtain collective bargaining and negotiate contracts;
• build state and national coalitions with other unions representing FCC providers (e.g., SEIU, AFT, CWA);
• assist with leadership development including: workshops, conferences, conventions, caucuses, on-line leadership training and other educational opportunities;
• develop a Child Care Leadership Conference;
• maintain an AFSCME union presence at the two national early childhood education conferences: National Association of Family Child Care and the National Association for the Education of Young Children, to promote organizing and build membership;
• pursue shared purchasing opportunities for self-employed FCC and IP members through AFSCME Advantage and build a menu of member benefits specifically designed for FCC;
• build and support an “in-union” marketing/referral program designed to promote, within the labor movement, the selection of “union” child care programs, and to assist union members to find union child care;
• develop a national media campaign to build public awareness of and promote the value of family child care recognition and respect for family child care providers and programs;
• develop a national political and legislative action agenda to build public support for FCC bargaining and provide resources, such as action alerts and robo-calls to mobilize all AFSCME members to engage in our work to ensure every child has access to affordable high quality care and that every FCC provider has the right to organize;
• dedicate staff within the following International Union departments: Education, Conference and Conventions, Research and Legal, Political Action, Legislation and Organizing; and
• support AFSCME’s FCC leaders and activists to build a national vision and agenda for organized family child care by establishing a collective body of FCC locals to work together on federal issues, collaborate, share resources, information and opportunities nationwide.