FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 18, 2023
Contact: Christina Coleman [email protected], [email protected]
This announcement comes on the heels of the White House Proclamation declaring April as Care Workers Recognition Month.
WASHINGTON – Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the most comprehensive set of executive actions to improve care in the history of the United States. President Joe Biden will sign the order at an event with family caregivers, people with disabilities, older adults and early childhood and long-term care workers, including workers who are members of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. The order includes more than 50 directives to federal agencies to utilize existing funding to expand access to quality, affordable care, and provide support to family caregivers and care workers, including domestic workers.
Ai-jen Poo, President of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and Jenn Stowe, Executive Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, released the following statement in response:
“This is a tremendous milestone for families and workers across the country. This unprecedented slate of executive actions represents the most comprehensive set of actions any president has ever taken to improve the care infrastructure and support families and care workers. We applaud the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic commitment to addressing the growing demand for affordable, high-quality care services for our loved ones, while ensuring care workers are afforded the protections, wages, and dignity they deserve on the job.
This could not have come at a more critical time. As the care workforce crisis intensifies across the country and families continue to struggle to afford care, this set of executive actions marks the all-in commitment we need to make sure care jobs are good jobs and that Americans can access care for generations to come. It is a major step toward modernizing our care system.
These executive actions recognize the critical importance of care work, including paid and unpaid responsibilities such as child care, elder care, and disability care. It acknowledges the challenges care workers face, who are often undervalued and underpaid, and aims to improve their wages, benefits, and working conditions.
The order also focuses on expanding affordable access to care services, particularly for low-income communities, promoting continued innovation and collaboration in the care sector. It recognizes that care work is essential to the economy and that investment in this sector can lead to job creation and economic growth.
The magnitude of these investments cannot be overstated – the Administration is leading us to the once-in-a-generation investments needed to improve the lives of millions, and toward building a more equitable and sustainable care infrastructure in this country. It is our hope that today’s promise is inspiration for our country’s decision makers and leaders to prioritize care in all they do. Our families, our jobs and our future depend on bold actions like today’s Executive Order – and care is a need that we can no longer overlook. We look forward to continuing our efforts, alongside the White House and all of our nation’s leaders, toward ensuring that every person in this country has access to affordable care and that every care worker receives the dignity and respect they deeply deserve.”
In an unprecedented show of unity of workers, families, consumers of care and leaders across the care economy, the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), SEIU, AFL-CIO, AFT, AFSCME, Community Change, MomsRising, Care in Action, Care Can’t Wait, and a number of the care movement’s Congressional champions, will gather in Washington, D.C. for the Care Workers Can’t Wait Summit on April 18th and 19th to celebrate this announcement, and chart our way forward.
This announcement also comes on the heels of the White House proclamation designating the month of April as Care Workers Recognition Month. This recognition is particularly meaningful in light of a long history of exclusion of some workers from basic protections in our nation’s labor laws.
Ai-jen Poo, President, and Jenn Stowe, Executive Director, are available for interviews upon request. For interview inquiries or if you’d like to learn more about the Care Workers Can’t Wait Summit, please email [email protected] and [email protected]
