Read our editorial on the significance of strikes here.
A group of 15 home care workers ended a weeklong hunger strike on April 23 in New York City, saying City Council has agreed to advance legislation to end 24-hour workdays.
Years of organizing against the 24-hour live-in shift system led the 15 workers to begin a hunger strike and camp outside City Hall on April 16. They demanded City Council Speaker Julie Menin support a bill that would split 24-hour shifts into two 12-hour shifts and cap the workweek at 56 hours.
Organizers told The Worker the hunger strike was necessary now because “workers are dying”. One representative said, “I call [workers] to follow up on how they’re doing. Their family members pick up to tell us that they have passed away.”
Menin’s office denied making any commitments, according to local media Documented. Workers vowed to resume the hunger strike on May 15 if the bill is not introduced.
The 24-hour home care workers, who are mostly immigrant women, spend full days caring for elderly and disabled patients in the patients’ homes. They are employed by non-profit organizations funded by the city.
The Chinese Staff and Workers’ Association and Ain’t I a Woman (AIW) have rallied behind the workers for their fight against the 24-hour workday. Meanwhile, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), who the workers are formally organized under, has opposed ending the 24-hour shifts in collusion with the Democrat mafia.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York Governor Kathy Hochul have both acted to preserve the grueling 24-hour shifts. On the campaign trail, the fake socialist Mamdani called for an end to the 24-hour workday, but like so many of his other promises, he has since backpedaled, now hiding behind “fiscal constraints”.
Another popular refrain to justify opposition to ending the 24-hour workday has been to cite disability rights, pitting masses against each other to obfuscate exploitation and monopoly profits. Hochul has threatened to withhold state Medicaid funds to the city should the ban go into effect.
Also at stake is $90 million in stolen wages. Under NY law, 24-hour shifts are paid as 13 hours, based on scheduled sleep and meal breaks. Workers report those breaks are regularly interrupted by the demands of the job, meaning they effectively work the full 24 hours at a 13 hour rate.
The Legal Aid Society, which represents the workers in their wage theft case, has also opposed ending 24-hour shifts. They argue Medicaid would not cover the cost of two workers a day, pitting workers against their patients.
Image: Participants of the hunger strike announce its conclusion. Credit: @aiwcampaign on Instagram.
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