Homecare and personal support workers across Oregon are voting on a new contract. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 503 represents around 30,000 workers who provide in-home care for seniors and people with physical or intellectual disabilities.
Local 503 announced July 10 it had reached tentative agreement on a new contract that gives workers a $3 per hour raise over the next two years: a $1.25 per hour raise starting Jan. 1, 2026, and a $1.75 per hour raise starting Jan. 1, 2027.
The contract runs through June 30, 2027. Local 503 said by the time the contract expires in 2027, a majority of the unit will be making at least $25 per hour.
The current starting rate for homecare and personal support workers is $20 per hour, while the wage scale tops out at $24.
The proposed contract also adds four new holidays, where workers will make 1.5 times their normal rate for the first eight hours worked. The new holidays are Veterans Day, New Year’s Eve, MLK Day, and Juneteenth.
Voting opened July 21 and will run through early August.
