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Children are bright. They're perceptive. But they can get lost when adults aren't there to help them wade through life's tough questions. If it's true that 90 percent of learning happens before age eight, then most children today rely on their child care teachers to help them build skills for a smooth transition into life's next demanding phase. Currently, Seattle's child care teachers are leaving the job at a rate of 43 percent every six months. Between 1988 and 1992, there was an 80 percent turnover - second only to gas station attendants.
Why don't you begin by describing the Seattle Worthy Wages Task Force.
It started from our retreat in 1989 called, "Finding Our Voices." The retreat was put together by very supportive directors. That's kind of funny: A lot of directors aren't supportive or weren't supportive because they feared there would be a real disagreement between the staff and directors, and they felt that if staff were demanding higher wages that they would have to...raise tuition for parents. So, a lot of directors were really wary of getting involved. The ones who were very supportive knew that: 'Well, I'm in this field because it's important. I've got a great staff; they're educated; they have training; they're dedicated. But they're gonna leave if we don't pay them a livable wage.'
How many teachers are involved in the task force?
Not many. The task force is really small. About 15.
People?
Literally. You're talking real grassroots and a shoestring budget. But we're just plugging along. We're dedicated. I feel very fortunate that I'm not isolated anymore and that my voice really has been able to make changes. I see a lot of progress. I mean this is a movement, a movement like the unions, like civil rights, like voting. All this change was made in small increments, but we're able to see this progress. Now, I know we have a long way to go and we have a lot of barriers in this to overcome...
With all the focus that society is placing on children and early education and intervention, why do you think there hasn't been a demand for higher pay?
Because 96 percent of the workforce is female. I think if this was a male-dominated field the salaries would be much higher. I think that it also goes back to how we devalue children. We think that education starts at kindergarten. We know that that's not the case. It just goes hand in hand that it's a female workforce. If you think about the '30s, '40s, and '50s, a lot of these children were staying home with mom. She was taking care of them. Now the whole economics have changed. I don't know any two-parent families where one parent can stay home unless the other makes an incredible salary.
Where is compensation now, what kind of strides are necessary in your mind?
We have to break the link between what parents are paying and what child care workers are earning because that's basically where our salaries are based- on the (parents') fees- and it's low...one of the things we have to look at is, "is there a possibility of parents paying on a sliding fee scale?" It can be a solution. It can work. It's something that's working in other cities. It's something that must be done...a lot of parents are being priced right out of the market... but, that's what we have to do...break the link because it shouldn't fall on the backs of parents. They're strapped. It's really unfair.
What is the average salary of a child care worker?
Well, the statistics are someone with a B.A. in E.C.E. (Early Childhood Education) makes about $12,000 a year.
And no benefits.
Very little benefits, if anything at all. I have a friend who's got a master's who's making $9 an hour, which is certainly higher than what most are making...you can see the injustice right there.
What would be your idea of a good wage?
I think it depends on education and experience. I think if you're a head teacher and have a B.A. and five years experience you should be making $15 an hour. People like me who have been in it a long time, should be making $20 an hour.
You have an incredible energy. I noticed that right away on the phone.
It's that caffeine. (laugh) No.
It seems to me that if there's one overriding quality that a field like this takes it's an energy, an enthusiastic creativity. What is it that gets you out of bed everyday to go in and be surrounded by kids who can out-energy even you?
(laugh) Well, actually, I run them ragged, too. I think it's that I believe so strongly in this profession. I run into students who I had in kindergarten; they're like 16, 17, 18 years old. They're wonderful, they're creative, they're smart. I run into kids I had two years ago, they're doing well. I think what keeps me going is I know I'm preparing them for their lifelong attitudes. I really do believe that 90 percent of learning is from birth to eight years old. That, to me, is why I stay in this field. And knowing that this is the work I was destined to do. It's great work. It's fun; it's tiring; it's challenging. It's everything.
I used to feel almost embarrassed to say that I teach in early childhood education because there's such a mindset that: "Oh, it's so easy;" " Oh, it's nothing;" "Oh, it's babysitting." That's why (when) people say things like this I challenge them. I say, "Why don't you come in for a week and volunteer and see what it's all about?" Some people have. They've taken me to task, and they've done a complete 360-degree change in their attitude.
Children are a gold mine. I just want to be part of their development.
How old are you?
35. (laugh) I'm an old bird. (laugh) Sometimes I feel really young, sometimes I feel so old. I guess it depends on how much sleep I've gotten the night before. But they do keep me young. They have a way. Kids have no masks, you know? When they're sad, they cry. When they're involved in something all they use is pure Zen. It's really amazing to see them create, to think, to ask questions. I really don't think most people listen to what children say.
On April 21st of this year, was that the first ever strike of childcare workers in the nation?
No, let's see, we first went on strike in 1991. That was the big year and it was very...it's funny you use the words "radical" and "militant." But it had never been done before. One of the reasons the task force tries to mobilize teachers is because we have to understand that we can't be isolated anymore. And one of the reasons we wanted to get parents on our side, is because parents are the ultimate consumers of child care. I think our legislators will listen to us (teachers) just so long, but they will listen to parents if parents demand that the government start helping us out.
People have to understand that sometimes you have to be pushed against the wall. You need to be shocked. You need to be at a disadvantage, and sometimes you have to do things that make people angry before they will rise up and listen and understand that we'll all have to be part of the solution. We have to work together.
What was the response to the strike?
Thirty-five centers shut their doors...the first year about 50 did. It kind of ebbs and flows. . . a lot of the parents who were very supportive took their kids to work, so they let their employers know that "This is what happens when I don't have child care," and it does affect the businesses. That's why we're working with business too. I think the whole mindset of business has to change. By the year 2000, 50 percent of the workforce is going to be women. Women have children, it's an inevitability. People are not gonna stop having children. So, they (businesses) have to kinda get off their duff and help their employees.
I wanted you to respond to a quote I heard from a member of the Washington State Labor Council who described the worthy wages campaign as a "pre-union union."
I LOVE that. (laugh) That's one of the task force goals. In fact, in one of the workshops, we had a panel of people who were working at centers and in schools that do belong to unions. The reason I like that statement is because that's one of our only powers is to unionize, to have collective bargaining and, plus, we'll have lobbyists in Olympia. We need those kinds of things because the lawmakers, they keep on forgetting that they work for us. We have to work within the system and outside the system. The unions are one of the only ways we're going to have any kind of power and that's what we need. We need to be empowered, certainly individually, but that's a collective power.
What's your feeling about other day care workers, about the idea of unionizing. is that something a little too radical?
I think it's radical for some who don't think that there's a crisis. Certainly on the flip side, I think there are some people who are just waiting for these things to happen because they're realizing that they are empowered and they are advocates. I think, in a lot of ways, it's scary to people because they don't know what unions are all about. They don't know the history of unions. I think they're even scared by the whole idea of paying dues because they're not making a lot of money... I think there're a lot of biases and fears. We have to dispel the fears, educate ourselves, and we'll be on our way.
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