Between Public and Private: Care Workers, Fissuring, and Labor Law.

NOTE CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 253 1. PUBLIC-PRIVATE FISSURING 258 A. The Public-Private Structure of the Care Economy 260 1. Medicaid 262 2. Childcare 265 B. Public-Private Fissuring 267 l. The Concept [...]
In the childcare and home-care sectors of the "care economy," wages are low and working conditions are poor, driving high turnover and inadequate access to care. This Note introduces the concept of "public-private fissuring" and identifies it as one mechanism that devalues care. Although states set wages and regulate working conditions, care workers covered by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) cannot bargain with these public entities under National Labor Relations Board supervision, inhibiting meaningful bargaining. To address this challenge, this Note argues that states should recognize their implicit joint-employer relationship with these workers, enabling care workers to bargain with the state over state-controlled employment conditions without impeding their ability to bargain with private employers under the NLRA.