In-home child-care providers subsidized by the state of Minnesota can continue to join unions, according to a federal judge who ruled on a technicality, but efforts to stop such organizing will likely continue.
Judge Michael Davis decided that two lawsuits aiming to stop unionizing efforts were filed prematurely in a decision found here.
“Child-care providers can finally vote and decide for themselves if they want to join together in a union,” said Jennifer Munt, a spokeswoman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 5, in a statement. “Uniting will improve the quality of in-home child care by giving providers greater access to important health, safety and educational tools.”
According to the Associated Press, 12,700 child-care providers are subsidized by the state.
Democrats in the state’s legislature agreed to a union-organizing drive in May, the wire service stated.
Those who care for the nation’s youngest citizens are often paid just above the federal poverty line. For more background on this issue, check out this study.