Child care dues debate

A debate over when and how child care providers should pay potential union dues resulted in a win for providers who support a bill that would prohibit state deductions from child care assistance payments.

On a 12-7 vote, the House Health and Human Services Reform Committee approved HF1766, sponsored by Rep. Kathy Lohmer (R-Lake Elmo), Jan. 31 and sent it to the House floor. Sen. Ted Lillie (R-Lake Elmo) sponsors a companion, SF1630, which awaits action by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

There currently is no child care union in Minnesota. Providers were to vote on whether to unionize after Gov. Mark Dayton signed an executive order last November calling for an election, but the vote was stalled when a Ramsey County judge issued a temporary restraining order.

Even though the ability to unionize is still up in the air, the bill is intended to prohibit union dues from automatically being deducted from reimbursement checks paid to child care workers who care for children of low-income families receiving child care assistance funds.

Both sides claim it’s a matter of choice. Should providers pay dues from their business accounts or should they have the ability to have the state automatically deduct dues from their reimbursement checks?

“There are many ways of collecting union dues and fees without touching funds from this program,” said Jennifer Parrish, a Rochester licensed family child care provider. She suggested automatic bill pay options from bank accounts. “This bill is not saying there can’t be a union.”

Dana Akre, food program monitor for the Minnesota Licensed Family Child Care Association, agreed. “It should go into my bank account and at that point I can make my choice.”

But Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL-Rochester) said the money belongs to the providers and they should have the option to have the deduction taken out prior to receiving reimbursement.

Rep. Duane Quam (R-Byron) supports the bill. “The only thing removed here is the state deducting funds before they get the money.”

Providers fear dues may become compulsory if there is a union. If that happens, many have said they may stop taking child care assistance families because they already receive less reimbursement than caring for private-pay families.