November is Provider Appreciation Month and every year we honor and celebrate the importance of our work as caregivers and the advocacy we take on every day on behalf of all IHSS providers and our clients. Our work is endless, not only because we go above and beyond to give our clients the care, attention, and love they deserve, but we fight to make long-lasting change at all levels to better our lives and our communities.
“Being a caregiver is one of the hardest jobs I have ever done and each and every one of us that is a part of this community recognizes that our job is important and serves a fundamental role in our state,” said Kern County member and IHSS provider Sandy Moreno. Together, we have fought hard to have our voices heard and our work acknowledged and respected.
This year, we finally ended the 7% cut to IHSS for good, stopped the recall of Governor Newsom, who has proven himself to be one of the strongest supporters we’ve ever had, and we successfully passed a bill that will enact a financial penalty on counties that won’t budge on raises and refuse to bargain in good faith.
This November, UDW hosted 16 provider appreciation events up and down the state and distributed over 3,500 turkeys, bags of groceries, and other goodies and prizes. We know that our days are long and exhausting, but we also know that we are changing lives every day—and our union is here to support us and honor our work every day
We’ve come so far, but our work doesn’t end here. Member Tania Ferrucci of Orange County sees us taking bigger strides toward change. “I hope that in the future, providers receive higher wages that reflect the hard work we do for our loved ones and the community, as well as access to a retirement plan and medical insurance—because we deserve to have our needs met.”
Our voice, experiences, and work matter, and we have the power to continue uplifting care workers and our communities.
THANK YOU for all that you do!
Riverside members drive through their local provider appreciation event to collect their turkey, groceries and some special giveaways on Nov. 20. 
Director of internal operations, Matt Maldonado, distributes turkeys to local members at the Kern County provider appreciation event in Delano on Nov. 4
San Diego County representative Maria Garza and fellow members gift goodie bags at San Diego provider appreciation event on Nov. 17 in Chula Vista.
