Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Votes to Note: Unionizing Independent Child Care Providers

Last Tuesday the State Senate engrossed a bill that would allow independent child care providers in Massachusetts the ability to form collective bargaining units for negotiations over state vouchers. H.3986, “An Act relative to early education and care by family child care providers”, would allow these home-based child care providers the opportunity to bargain with the state over voucher rates, which would ultimately be subject to the legislature’s final approval. This bill takes the extraordinary steps of unionizing contracted workers as employees of the state.

The legislation may seem like a simple solution to a straightforward problem, but I have deep reservations concerning the legal ramifications of the bill. Allegedly, the sole purpose of this legislation is to allow independent child care providers the opportunity to advocate for higher voucher rates, a measure that they can already accomplish by visiting the State House and meeting with legislators.

Unfortunately, the Senate Republican Caucus was unable to garner the support needed to strike down this bill, which passed by a 34-4 roll call vote.

In an effort to remedy the dilemma that has been raised, I offered an amendment to a supplemental budget during Monday’s formal session. The amendment would have gotten to the crux of the problem by creating a $25 million reserve to provide salary support for independent child care providers using a portion of the Fiscal Year 2012 budgetary surplus.

The passage of this amendment would not only provide the necessary support needed for independent child care providers, but would also avoid the very real legal ramifications that could ensue artificial unionization. Regrettably, my amendment failed by a roll call vote of 7-29.

To view the actual votes taken by the members of the Senate, please view the posted roll call votes below.

House #3986

Yeas: 34 Nays: 4

Roll Call Votes: Yea/Nay

Frederick E. Berry: Yea
Stephen M. Brewer: Yea
William N. Brownsberger: Yea
Gale D. Candaras: Yea
Harriette L. Chandler: Yea
Sonia Chang-Diaz: Yea
Katherine Clark: Yea
Cynthia Stone Creem: Yea
Sal N. DiDomenico: Yea
Kenneth J. Donnelly: Yea
Eileen Donoghue: Yea
Benjamin B. Downing: Yea
James B. Eldridge: Yea
Susan C. Fargo: Yea
Barry Finegold: Yea
Jennifer L. Flanagan: Yea
John Hart: Yea
Robert L. Hedlund: Nay
Patricia D. Jehlen: Yea
Brian A. Joyce: Yea
John Keenan: Yea
Thomas P. Kennedy: Yea
Michael R. Knapik: Yea
Thomas M. McGee: Yea
Mark C. Montigny: Yea
Michael O. Moore: Yea
Richard T. Moore: Yea
Senate President Therese Murray: Did Not Vote
Marc R. Pacheco: Yea
Anthony Petruccelli: Yea
Michael Rodrigues: Nay
Stanley C. Rosenberg: Yea
Richard J. Ross: Nay
Michael Rush: Yea
Karen E. Spilka: Yea
Bruce E. Tarr: Nay
James E. Timilty: Yea
James Welch: Yea
Daniel Wolf: Yea

House #4334
Amendment #22

Yeas: 7 Nays: 29

Roll Call Votes: Yea/Nay

Frederick E. Berry: Did Not Vote
Stephen M. Brewer: Nay
William N. Brownsberger: Nay
Gale D. Candaras: Nay
Harriette L. Chandler: Nay
Sonia Chang-Diaz: Nay
Katherine Clark: Nay
Cynthia Stone Creem: Nay
Sal N. DiDomenico: Nay
Kenneth J. Donnelly: Nay
Eileen Donoghue: Nay
Benjamin B. Downing: Nay
James B. Eldridge: Nay
Susan C. Fargo: Nay
Barry Finegold: Did Not Vote
Jennifer L. Flanagan: Nay
John Hart: Nay
Robert L. Hedlund: Yea
Patricia D. Jehlen: Nay
Brian A. Joyce: Nay
John Keenan: Nay
Thomas P. Kennedy: Nay
Michael R. Knapik: Yea
Thomas M. McGee: Nay
Mark C. Montigny: Nay
Michael O. Moore: Yea
Richard T. Moore: Nay
Senate President Therese Murray: Did Not Vote
Marc R. Pacheco: Nay
Anthony Petruccelli: Nay
Michael Rodrigues: Yea
Stanley C. Rosenberg: Nay
Richard J. Ross: Yea
Michael Rush: Nay
Karen E. Spilka: Nay
Bruce E. Tarr: Yea
James E. Timilty: Yea
James Welch: Nay
Daniel Wolf: Nay