Voice of the WBC

CHA Members Take Action Against Attacks on Workers

Membership delegates representing fellow members from the same occupation, worksite or neighborhood attend meetings of the Sonoma County Workers Benefit Council (WBC) to discuss and determine the practical actions necessary to advance their economic and political betterment. The programs listed below are examples of actions begun and led by the WBC.

CHA’s principles and programs are consistent with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The WBC’s campaigns are framed within one or more of the SDGs represented by the corresponding icon. Click on any SDG icon throughout this page for more information.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
SDG 8: Full and Productive Employment for All

Fight for caregivers and recipients

Sonoma County Workers Benefit Council (WBC) has mobilized speaking campaigns and picket lines at State hearings, mobilizing caregivers and care recipients to have a voice in the decisions that are affecting their lives. WBC delegates, members and allies have stopped over $1 billion in attempted cuts to In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), the state administered program that hires caregivers to provide assistance to indigent elderly and disabled residents.

In 2015, WBC delegates with support of CHA members and supporters won overtime pay for IHSS caregivers after the state reneged on their promise to pay overtime to domestic workers beginning in 2014.

GIF graphic in different languages of SDG Goal Number Three: Good Health and Well-Being
GIF graphic in different languages of SDG Goal number 8: Decent work and economic growth.
A young women on a picket line with a sign that says IHSS WORKERS SAVE LIVES in all caps and big letters.
Multiple people with signs chanting on a picket line. The signs are against cuts to IHSS and state how the workers save lives.
Multiple people on a picket line. One sign says "END CORPORATE WELFARE NOW"
A painting of men and women on a picket line for IHSS caregivers.

Illustration by John H. Howard

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

Fight for Affordable, Sustainable Energy for All

A group of people of mixed ages, races and genders outside a state buidlign with fists up and signs that say STOP THE SHUT OFFS, NO RATE INCREASES, HEATING AND EATING? WE NEED BOTH!

WBC delegates, CHA members and volunteers unite with small business owners and professionals to form a strong voice to call on the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to do its job and protect ratepayers from skyrocketing utility rates, which generate significant profits for PG&E’s investors while low-income families are unable to keep up with their bills and face disconnections.

As a result of a combination of speaking campaigns at the CPUC headquarters in San Francisco, letter-writing and postcard campaigns from across Sonoma County, the CPUC has rejected over $4.2 billion from PG&E’s attempted rate increases in total since 2000.

Despite these victories, the CPUC remains heavily influenced by the interests of investor-owned utilities in California. For that reason, CHA continues to advocate for and promote Goal 7 of the SDGs.

A woman in a hearing room with a sign "HEATING AND EATING WE NEED BOTH" and other people fill the chairs adjacent and behind her.
A woman speaking into a microphone at a podium.
A man in a hearing room holding up a sign reading "NO RATE INCREASES"
A woman speaking into a microphone at a podium.
A mixed group of people filling the front rows of a hearing room with signs that say, "NO MORE RATE INCREASES" and "STOP THE SHUT OFFs"