“The majority of funding for our work comes from the federal and state government, not the county, so we’re not a burden on them. Two weeks ago, we got a regressive offer via email, one with a decrease in wages and an increase in our health care costs — it was worse than the one they offered in February.
“My concern is this: we perform an invaluable service to the community. And in a society which says that they value children, the value they place on the work we do does not indicate that. People who fix cars make more than we do, have better benefits that we do. I believe that everybody who comes to work in this building is dedicated to improving the lives of families and keeping children safe. We’re proud of the work that we do and just want to be treated fairly.”
[Leah Bayer of Beaver Falls and Debbie Anderson of Ambridge, members of SEIU Local 668 rally outside the Human Services Building in Beaver Falls on April 1st. At that time, the workers had been working without a contract for nearly a year and negotiations with the county commissioners were at a standstill. Since then, a tentative agreement has been reached and will be voted on in the coming days.]