|
Convened by the White House—and especially First Lady Michelle Obama—the “United State of Women” Summit will gather women from around the country to celebrate what we’ve achieved and how we’re going to take action to address gender equality issues. Together, we’ll make a powerful difference in our collective future. Learn more about the event here and here. |
Treasurer Tonia McMillian has been a family child care provider for 22 years, offering a quality day care program out of her home in Bellflower. And for most of that time, she has been a leader in the efforts to win a stronger voice for the women and men working in early education.
And now she’s taking that passion for kids, families and early educators all the way to Washington, D.C., where she will represent SEIU Local 99 and California child care providers at the United State of Women Summit.
“In all my various roles, I fight for women,” says McMillian. “I fight for underpaid working moms—whether they work at McDonald’s or our airports or caring for our elderly—so that they can afford high quality child care and still be able to pay the rent, put food on the table and keep the lights on.
“And I fight for at least $15 an hour and the right to form a union for all of us providing that early care and education. This is a low wage industry. We are primarily women. And we are mostly women of color. Right now, 90% of the early educators like me in the U.S. can’t afford a single-person family budget. Many of us are forced to accept public assistance because we earn as little as $4.98 an hour. I work 14-hour days during the week and then I do catering on Sundays to try to make ends meet. Like so many in this profession, I live paycheck-to-paycheck. And I don’t have access to retirement benefits, so I expect to work until I die.”
McMillian has also been instrumental in making sure access to affordable child care and at least $15 an hour and a union for child care workers are a big part of our national conversation, including the campaigns of 2016 presidential candidates.
“We are long overdue for a meaningful investment in our nation’s child care system. The terribly low wages in our industry lead to high turnover and a lack of access to the quality care every parent needs and deserves,” says McMillian.
In L.A. County, where McMillian lives and provides child care, not even 3% of infants and toddlers have access to licensed care. And yet we know from study after study that these early years are critical for proper development and future success.
“I picture a California—and a United State of Women—where every child gets the kind of care I offer, the kind of care that puts them in the top of their class when they reach kindergarten. And I picture a nation where all working moms and dads have access to this kind of quality, affordable, safe and reliable child care,” says McMillian.
