Direct care workers drive our nation’s long-term services and supports system, yet this workforce faces persistently low pay, few benefits, and often hazardous employment conditions. This study explores the role of unions in improving job quality for direct care workers using Current Population Survey data.
Key Takeaways
Unionized direct care workers earn $1.39 more per hour (9% higher wages) than non-unionized workers across all care settings.
States with higher union density boost wages for all direct care workers—even non-union ones—with workers in union-supportive states earning $1.22 more per hour than those in right-to-work states.
Only 11% of direct care workers are unionized due to historical exclusions from labor protections and modern right-to-work laws that particularly impact this workforce of predominantly women and workers of color.
Contributing Authors
Lina Stepick, PhD, Jiyeon Kim, PhD, Stephen McCall, and Kezia Scales, PhD
