WHEREAS:

Shifting demographic trends and the growing movement of women into the labor force underlies the changing structure of families. Nearly 20 percent of all families are maintained by single parents, the majority of whom are women. Further, more than 57 percent of married women with children under 14 years of age are working or looking for work. With both women and men in the labor force, regardless of marital status, a growing proportion of families have no adult at home to manage or provide care for elderly relatives; and

WHEREAS:

Eldercare differs from the stresses of caring for children while working because:

• it is difficult to plan for the crises that can occur as relatives become frailer and less able to care for themselves;
• the network of services for the aging is fragmented and hard to access without "insider" knowledge; and
• adult caregivers often feel guilty about needing outside help to deal with their aging relatives - help that the relatives may refuse; and

WHEREAS:

Caregivers provide physical, emotional and financial assistance to older persons or they may be concerned about having to do so in the future. They may be assisting older persons who live many miles away, in their homes, in the older person's home, or in a nursing home; and

WHEREAS:

Families are the primary providers of care (80 percent) — usually daughters and wives — and are actually spending more time on eldercare than on child care. Today, women can expect to spend 19 years caring for an aging parent, compared with 18 years caring for a child. In 1990, adults spent 9 years caring for an aging parent compared with 19 years caring for a child. This shift is expected to continue. The average married couple is now more likely to have parents than children to care for; and

WHEREAS:

Minority women are more likely to be caregivers and are more likely to be forced to balance the demands of caregiving with paid employment; and

WHEREAS:

Eldercare is a concern to both employers and employees because the time and stress involved in caregiving can be enormous; some employees have to take vacation and sick leave to deal with crises; spend hours at work on the telephone trying to find resources; and sometimes quit their jobs because they are unable to handle the responsibilities of both work and caregiving. Flexible schedules reduce some of these problem, but these are not options for many employees. Only about 3 percent of some 6 million employers provide some type of eldercare benefits for their employees; and

WHEREAS:

An average employer with 1,000 employees loses about $500,000 a year in productivity because of eldercare demand. With both women and men working outside the home, employer support in balancing employee work and family responsibilities is a workplace concern for both women and men.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

That AFSCME and its affiliates continue to vigorously support and urge passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act and lobby for similar laws at the state level; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That wherever possible, affiliates collectively bargain for family and medical leave provisions in contracts. Also, that affiliates consider conducting a needs assessment to determine the prevalence and nature of caregiving responsibilities; the degree to which caregiving affects work performance; and worker preferences for union and/or worksite support; and

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

That AFSCME councils and locals initiate support of working conditions that ameliorate the plight of these caregivers; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:

That affiliates establish labor-management committees to consider such options as: counseling, information and referral services, and caregiving components in retirement planning seminars.

SUBMITTED BY:

Joseph McDermott, President Irene Carr, Secretary-Treasurer
CSEA Local 1000/AFSCME
New York

Jacquie Jones-Walsh, President
Ruth Skalbania, Recording Secretary
AFSCME Local 843, Council 28
Washington