Why do Childcare workers make such lousy wages?  And how can workers demand more fairer compensation?
456019
Supply and demand.  There are a ton of people (i.e. large supply) that have the skillset to be a child care worker.  \n\nIf you don't feel you are compensated fairly, find a competitor to your company that is willing to pay you more.  At the end of the day, you're basically going to get paid for your skill set, work effort, etc.  If you're unhappy, you may want to consider getting more/different skills that will make you qualified for a higher paying job.
525192
i don't know where you're getting the idea they make tons of money from putting kids in foster care.  it COSTS the state tons of money.  my sister does this for a living and their departements are severly underfunded and understaffed.  the workers do what they can but sadly, until everyone gets it through to their local officals that they want money spent on protecting abused children instead of tax cuts and expanding roads the situation is not going to improve.  it's really sad.  my sister alone has about 50 cases and she's sposued to visit the foster home, the parents, supervise at least 1 visit and go to court monthly for each of them.  there's just not enough hours in a day.  each caseworker should only have about 20 cases but they don't have the funding to hire enough people.  i hope your situation works out.
727057
Don't blame you at all for being irked! I work in child support so have come across many who are on welfare or some other type of state assistance. It's a very mixed bag which is one of the problems with the system. Some people use it the way it's meant to be...temporarily...and others take it very much for granted. So there are definitely some problems with it. My opinion, it needs to be better controlled and if people aren't willing to use it the right way they should not be entitled to it.
296441
They have to deal with kids every day, which is stressful in itself.  They don't get paid that much, and their job is very important.  It doesn't make it any easier when their students act up.  I had some mean teachers when I was a kid, but I understand why some are like that now.  Of course, some people are just mean in general and shouldn't even be teaching!
705170
Teachers have been getting paid too much on the "high end" of seniority for quite a while now. Starting Teachers are making anywhere from 27-34K plus full benefits, not cheap ones either, for working just over 1/2 of a year. Many Teachers also work second jobs, not so much for the need to earn more money than the want, and are mostly in Professional type jobs making top wages there also. There are actual College Professors, I am sure not too many though, that make less than School District Teachers. The Teachers, through their Union Representatives, have informed the School Districts that within a certain amount of years they want to be making almost double the salary that they are now and do not want to pay towards their health coverage. Teachers are already , in many areas, getting "extra pay" for Parent / Teacher meetings which had always been a part of their regular job description. Where else can a person work 1/2 of a year, get vacation and sick time, an excellent pension, repayment and then raises for taking required College courses to keep up to date or to advance in thier careers, full and complete healthcare benefits with zero copays and zero contributions, practically guaranteed raises every year...one way or another, and don't have to work that hard usually? I won't even mention what some of the Teachers do instead of Teaching their students many times. So, are Teachers underpaid? Not at all. You cannot compare State to State or even different areas of the same State because of so many differences in demographics and wage disparagy, and to anyone who turns in another Professional career to make less and work harder as a Teacher, I have no sorrow for them as it was their choice, they can choose to return to their old job if they want! Must be some reason why they don't! Taxpayers do not have a quarter of the benefits nor half of the pay as Teachers in most cases, and surely do not get 1/2 a year off either. Many places do not have sick days anymore and certainly do not offer many vacation days. Health insurance in the real world usually costs the employee $60.00 or more per week just for themselves and doesn't cover much, and to insure a family would cost one worker in the family their entire pay each week at least if not more, to have insurance that doesn't cover everything! Teachers make plenty, don't fall for their crying.
289848
I think there are a number of reasons for this.  Generally it seems that the powers that be don't really value work that was traditionally done by women.  Also, jobs that are perceived to deal primarily with child care aren't valued very highly.  There is a certain degree of resentment toward teachers because of vacation time (without making allowances for all the unpaid overtime).  Teachers themselves are by nature, caregivers, and sometimes don't get assertive enough in standing up for themselves.  \n\nIt is interesting that teachers in Canada are paid much better than in the US.  In many professions the reverse is true.\n\nThose are some of my thoughts on the issue.
331523
Yes, I understand it's just your job. But you should understand, people work and their checks from their jobs are not enough. Besides the kids and things they want to do. You call to remind them everyday, they don't make enough to survive and be happy. So yeah you might have got cursed out a time or two.
821723
This is just another mind fart by a suit looking to justify his/her salary by implementing reforms and pressuring people to come up with ideas in part because they can't come up with their own, and they always feel they have to fix something even if it's not broken, again, to justify their salary and look busy, and very likely take credit for any good answers they do get. Maybe moral's bad because they got some idiot pressuring them for something. Just tell them what they want to hear, it's hard to say specifically from the general description you gave.
183121
You are not alone.  I am the primary caregiver for my three kids.  I do everything you can imagine.  It is sad b/c as the cost of living gets higher that means whoever makes the income has to work harder(less time to help you)The the cost of daycare is ridiculous
1010970
What you obviously dont understand is that the companies that hire these people for minimum wage COULD NOT do this if they were forced to pay higher wages.  By having these illegal immigrants working for these low wages, it brings down the entire middle class.  There are very few places that pay much more than the minimum wage but in Texas where I live, it is a common thing to see most jobs paying $7-$10 an hour.  How is a person to live?  Not everyone is cut out to go to college.  What you dont acknowledge is that these illegals are also being exploited.  And it is a matter of time before they too will decide that the profits that these companies are raking in are going to the CEO's and not trickling down to the people who are actually doing the bulk of the work.  And along with that are the numerous jobs that have added to it that you must be bi-lingual.......
524074
it all depends on the age.  Children who are younger require more care (diaper changes, bottle feeding, etc).\nGo to websites of local daycare providers in your area and find out what they offer (such a trips, activities, and how they are teaching fundamentals--ABCs, numbers) and how much they charge.\nApply that to what services you provide...what you are teaching the kids and what you do with them.  Charge a competitive rate based on your research. \nTypically daycares charge $200 a week per kid...but nannies tend to charge a flat rate for all children...\n\nWhatever your final decision is--make sure you specify IN WRITING!!! what services you are providing in return for the payment...write down what holidays you are willing to work etc.
239865
It's the same in the US -- foreign-born, low-skilled workers being exploited by greedy employers for big profits. Many of whom only have marginal skills in the job they're doing. The workers send much of the money they earn home so their earnings do not contribute to the local economy. They often live in squallor detract from the quality of life of the people that build these communities. It's a big problem. \n\nIn the town where I grew up (homes are now selling for $400-500k and taxes often are over $10,000) people don't want to put their children in the public schools because of the gangs that have sprung up with recent immigrants.
1010990
Point out that their obvious lack of civility is undoubtedly the reason why kids are sent to schools instead of staying with their parents for an education.\n\nBarring that, I would say to lodge a complaint to the administration and then grieve to your union rep about the lack of protections from abuse in the workplace. Basically, get the parent wrapped up in a huge legal quagmire. ;)
651308
You assume that welfare recipients are lazy and do not work. There are lots of welfare recipients working jobs but not making enough to even afford child care. Plus under welfare reform the recipients are already forced to work or go to school. \n\nAround here there's nothing but minimum wage jobs. The employers will only work an employee about 20 hours a week and one employer won't work around another employer's work schedules. 20 hours a week times $5.15/hour is about $100.00 a week and then they take out taxes and social security. The employee is making less than $400 a month and receiving welfare. Many of the women I know on welfare had been abandoned by the child's deadbeat father who refuses to help out with the children. Then the court orders the women to remain in the area in case the deadbeat ever wants to exercise his visitation rights for the child(ren) he won't even support. So the women face criminal sanctions if they move somewhere to try and get jobs that pay better money. After going through college to try and get a better job, the minimum wage employers around here won't hire them because they are "overqualified" and there aren't the better jobs around here. Since they aren't allowed to leave to get the better jobs, they're stuck. They have educated themselves out of the job market. The easy fix to this problem would be to lift the sanctions against their moving out of the area so that they can get decent jobs, but the courts want to control their lives to preserve the 'rights' of these deadbeats who don't want to take care of the kids in the first place. \n\nYes, these illegal aliens need to be deported. There are enough Americans trying to get jobs already without depressing the wages even further. \n\nThe illegals make up about 5 % of the work force. The unemployment rate is about 4.5%. Keep in mind that the unemployment rate does NOT represent everyone who is unemployed. It only counts those who are collecting unemployment. Everyone else's plight is ignored. The unemployment rate if everyone was counted would be tremendous. We do NOT have a shortage of labor, we have a large surplus. The more illegals that come in and take our jobs at minimum wage or less (often less) puts more and more Americans out of a job. Most of these Americans are never counted in the unemployment rate if they do not manage to get unemployment benefits. Unemployment benefits are hard to receive.\n\nIllegals draw welfare by stealing people's social security numbers and identities. That means there are a lot of people being directly hurt by these people as well. Innocent people are having their credit ratings ruined, having IRS problems, and social security problems. If someone who has had their social security number stolen gets married, if either spouse dies or become disabled then they can be denied their benefits. \n\nMy family moved to the US before WWII. Those of my family that didn't make it over got killed by the death camps. Our family assimilated to the American culture. We didn't expect the Americans to change to suit us. The illegal immigrants from Mexico are not civilized like that.\n\nThey not only changed the National Anthem to Spanish, they changed the words. They already burn our flag and hang our flag upside down. They waved the Mexican flag during a lot of their protests. Some schools have stopped hanging the American flag and forbidden students from wearing clothes with any part of the American flag on their clothing all to keep from offending the Mexicans. It's nothing short of an attack of our country, not only by the illegal aliens, but those who seek to appease them. \n\nI am tired of the stereotype that Americans wouldn't do the work that illegals do. Illegals do all kinds of jobs for less than minimum wage which drives the wages down for U.S. citizens. Construction jobs are an example. There are lots of illegals doing constructi
1076834
Equal wages for equal work is very much the law.  The reason, though, that you see  disparity between men and women for similar highly-paid positions, or positions of authority, is because many women stop out to become mothers.  This is factored into the averages that you see published to "prove" inequality. \n\nCaring for infants and children necessarily prevents women from being available to work the long hours required to achieve the highest positions.  As Neal Boortz says, "Successful people drive home in the dark".  \n\nSo.  Is this discrimination...?  I don't think so; even a child knows you can't have your cake and eat it, too.  Women must grow up and realize that you can't have it all; you have to choose.
1120198
The minimum wage was not necessarily established with the expectation that one would have to make do living on that wage.  There are people who are actually supported by others who are happy to receive 5.25 an hour--namely but not limited to teen agers.  Others might include retired people wanting to add a little income and perhaps others with a full time job wanting to make a little extra.
848090
sorry don't know figures but usually you get paid more it its government run like education boards rather than private run nurserys