Healthcare and Publicโ Sector Unions Face Existential Threat Amid Funding Cuts
SAN DIEGO, CA – August 30, 2025 โ- Unions representing healthcare workers and in-home care providers across California are bracing โคfor significant disruption as โfederal funding changes andโ financial pressures lead โto service cuts and widespread layoffs.โ The situation, fueled by the recent passage of โlegislation dubbed “Big โBeautiful Bill,”โข poses a critical challengeโ to the โฃlabor movement’s strength in the state andโ threatens access to essential care for vulnerableโ populations.
California, despite having a relatively high โคrate of unionization, is increasinglyโฃ reliant on public โขsector union membership. experts warn this reliance makes the labor movement especially vulnerable asโ federalโ policies shift โandโฃ state budgets tighten. The coming years will be pivotal, with unions fightingโฃ to maintain their influence and protect the livelihoods of their members. The changesโ directly impact millions ofโข Medicaid recipientsโค and the workers โwho provide their care, raising concerns about the โขfuture of essential services.
The impact is already being felt across major healthcare โsystems. Sharp HealthCareโค announced โขlayoff notices for 315โฃ workers, while UC San Diego Health and UCSF Health have revealed plans to โreduce โpublic โhealth services and implement hundreds โof layoffs, citing substantial financial difficulties and uncertainty surrounding federal funding. Theseโ cuts come โas healthcare facilities grapple with โevolving financial landscapes and the potential loss of revenue streams.
SEIU Local 2015 โPresident Arnulfo De La Cruz expressed deep concern for in-home care providers, โmany of whom โhave โdedicated decades to caring for individuals. “Many in-home care providers who have cared for people for decadesโ areโค now faced โฃwith the prospect that the people they care for โare going to lose their โคhealthcare, and that they โคthemselves may lose โฃtheir healthcare and their jobs,” De La Cruz stated.โ The potential โฃloss ofโ healthcare access for patients and job securityโข for caregiversโข createsโ a precarious situation for both parties.
Cynthia Williams, a member of AFSCME โLocal 3930 and a full-time โcaregiver in Orange county, described the โคimmediate consequencesโ of theโค funding changes. Williams provides care for her daughter, who is blind and โฃhas โcerebral palsy, โand her sister, a veteran living with severe post-traumatic stress โขdisorder.โฃ She reported preemptive โcuts to funding for her sister’sโ transportation to weekly appointments โthrough the In-Home Supportive Servicesโค program, which is primarily funded by Medicaid, and a reduction in the hours she isโ paid to care for her daughter. “The last fewโข months have been very stressful and very unpredictable,” Williams said.
labor analyst Logan noted theโข challenges facing unions, stating they are “ill-equipped to deal with this moment of โขcrisis” and “fighting for its survival over the next four years.” The “Big Beautiful โขBill,” with its tax spendingโฃ cuts and increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is identified as a key driver of the current instability. Critics, like Williams, condemnโ the legislation, calling it “a nasty bill.โฃ There’s nothing beautiful about that bill.”
The situation underscores the interconnectednessโ of healthcare funding,laborโข rights,and โฃaccess to essential services.As federal policies continue to โฃunfold, the future of California’s healthcare workforce and the well-being โofโ its most vulnerable residents remain uncertain.