Now that their first contract is in effect, Minnesota home care workers are taking the next steps to build their union. They are knocking on doors to recruit more people into the union and joining the national discussion on the future of home care.

On July 1, a contract went into effect between SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and the State of Minnesota covering approximately 27,000 workers across the state who provide home care to people with disabilities and seniors.

Starting Monday and going through July 26, members of the union will knocking on the doors of home care workers to education them on the new contract and sign them up as members. Doorknocking will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays.

SEIU is recruiting members of other unions and supporters to help with this massive effort, which is operating out of the Twin Cities and Rochester. Anyone interested in participating may contact Phillip Cryan by e-mail or at 651-269-4821.

At the same time, the union is highlighting issues important to home care workers, clients and society as a whole.

On Monday, two Minnesota home care workers will travel to Washington D.C. to participate in the White House Conference on Aging. They will be part of a select group discussing the best ways to improve long term care for the country’s aging population.

“For too long we have had to fight against the notion that home care work isn’t ‘real work,’” said Jan Wirpel, a home care worker from Minneapolis who was also a member of the union’s bargaining team. The low wages and lack of benefits have caused pain and frustrations for both home care workers and the people we serve, and these issues will only get worse as our population ages and our care gap grows.

“We fought hard for our new contract, winning paid time off, an increased wage floor and a training fund, but we still have a lot of work to do to get our industry where it needs to be. I’m excited to have the chance to represent Minnesota home care workers and clients at this conference, and look forward to bringing back ideas on how we will continue to improve the home care industry.”

The union released a new report, "Care Crisis: The Senior Care Gap," that found 19 Million seniors need daily care to stay in their homes – and that number is expected to double by 2050.

According to a study by the AARP, there are not enough home care workers entering and staying in the field to match the growing number of baby boomers who want in home long term care.

The report found that in 2010, there were seven potential caregivers aged 45-64 for every person 80 years or older. By 2030 this ration will drop to 4:1 and again to 3:1 in 2050. Decent wages were cited as the key solution to stabilizing the workforce.