Invest in Care

Tell Los Angeles County employers that we need better standards and a living wage for Caregivers

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the crisis in our nursing homes. For too long, caregivers and their residents have carried the consequences of a sector that prioritizes profit over quality care.

Skilled nursing facilities are understaffed, under-resourced with workers who are underpaid.

Caregivers in Los Angeles County receive an average hourly wage of $16.75 an hour. Low pay among these workers has contributed to high turnover. Most recent data shows about 5 out of every 10 workers this past year left their job. High turnover creates staffing shortages which puts tremendous pressure on an underpaid, financially strapped (predominantly women of color) workforce. These workers have to continue working long hours, sometimes across multiple facilities to cover staffing gaps elsewhere and provide for their own family needs.

When workers are mistreated, residents suffer.

Raising wages will help stop high turnover and make sure facilities are adequately staffed. Raising standards will hold this sector accountable by ensuring facility owners are appropriately managing facilities.

Will you stand with us and demand higher standards of care, and a living wage for skilled nursing facility workers?

Caregivers have been on the frontlines of this pandemic. Paying them a dignified wage and fighting to improve standards will help ensure residents can get the quality care they deserve.

Sign the petition, and join the movement.


To: Tell Los Angeles County employers that we need better standards and a living wage for Caregivers
From: [Your Name]

Caregivers in skilled nursing facilities around Los Angeles County need your help.

They have been on the frontlines of the pandemic. They’re working long hours, caring for our loved ones. They worked heroically with little or no PPE at the beginning of the pandemic, fighting to save lives, comfort patients and families, and do their best to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The problem is we aren’t treating them like the essential workers they are.

There’s a crisis in our communities and nursing homes—a shortage of caregivers that’s only getting worse. Additionally, poor facility standards are only making it more difficult for vulnerable residents to get the type of quality care they deserve.

This is why we believe Skilled Nursing Facility workers need $20 an hour and better standards to ensure residents get the quality care they deserve.

The average hourly wage for Los Angeles County caregivers in skilled nursing facilities is $16.75. This wage increase will help caregivers—mostly women of color—care for themselves and their families without fighting to keep a roof over their heads and food on their table. It will also help stop workers from leaving the sector altogether at this critical time. And finally, if we improve standards at facilities we will be able to help ensure residents receive the quality care they deserve.