Saint Louis, Mo. — The Missouri Home Care Union announced today it reached a tentative agreement with the Missouri Quality Home Care Council that would raise the minimum hourly wage for their workers to $10.15.
Home care workers are paid through the state’s Medicaid program and have been in negotiations for almost a full year with the MQHCC, which negotiates with workers and vendors. Missouri lawmakers appropriate $15.56 per hour for home care services to vendors, and home care workers wanted to see a larger portion of that appropriation tied directly to salary.
For several months, the Missouri Home Care Union and other labor organizations held events around the state to push for a new $11 per hour wage. Events were also designed to publicly apply pressure to Gov. Jay Nixon, who appoints members to the MQHCC. Organizers said his public support would be essential to the process.
MHCU supporters said they couldn’t comment on whether Nixon had privately moved the MQHCC toward agreement, but his office never publicly responded to the issue.
Both parties will now have to officially ratify and sign the deal within 45 days, and the precise administrative timeline for enforcing the new wage level remains unknown. The deal also includes provisions to protect how personal and financial information is stored or shared between vendors and gives an additional hourly stipend for working on holidays — both firsts.
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
