Employees of a Rockford-based nonprofit that provides care to individuals with developmental disabilities voted this week to form a union with AFSCME Council 31.
The newest union members from the Milestone Inc. agency include direct-support workers, rehabilitative aides, cooks, housekeepers, bus drivers, physical therapists and other employees.
"With our union, we can provide our individuals with the best possible care and improve our own working conditions as well," Antonio Leach, a direct-support worker of 12 years, said in a statement.
AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Henry Bayer offered a warm welcome to the Milestone employees.
"We look forward to working together with management to better the lives of Milestone workers and the individuals they serve diligently every day," he said.
AFSCME is part of the statewide Care Campaign coalition focused on boosting the wages for direct-support workers in Illinois. The industry's average wage is currently $9.35 an hour, which is 21 percent under the poverty threshold for a family of four.
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