Wednesday 25 September 2024

Devaluing the Elderly, Devaluing Residential Long-Term Workers

As of 2022, in the United States, the median hourly pay for workers in nursing homes and residential care facility industries is 15.22 dollars (vs the US median hourly wage of 20.7 dollars). 7.2% of these workers live in poverty (vs 5.3% poverty rate for all workers) and 6.9% are covered by a union contract (vs the rate of 11.9% for the overall workforce). Compared to workers in general, residential long-term care workers are also less likely to be covered by employer-provided retirement and health insurance benefits. 80.9% of the workers are women, a disproportionate number (22.4%) Black women and immigrant women (12.8%). (via)

“For too long, our society has devalued the elderly and people with disabilities as well as the workers who help them lead more enriched and independent lives. It is no coincidence that women—particularly women of color and immigrants—perform much of this hands-on care work, both paid and unpaid, in homes and in residential long-term care settings.”
Julia Wolfe

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photograph by Flip Schulke via

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