PCA's on TV...

All and all, I had a good day; bad morning, but good day over all.  I cashed a check and paid the computer guy and Zyn back some of what they were owed.  I went out to eat and feel fine.  The best thing that happened to me today, however, was watching a program on our state’s PCA campaign collective bargaining process.  The campaign, directed my friend and colleague Rebecca Malberg of 1199 SEIU, had a big rally in Boston on June 18^th.  It’s the only statewide PCA rally I’ve ever missed.  I was traveling to the SDS conference at the time or, trust me, I would have been there.

Anyway the program is called The State We’re In, and it’s put on by our local public TV station.  The host , Jim  Madigan, was a little clueless at first.  He kept referring to consumers first as patients or clients until Rebecca corrected him on air (it was kind of funny actually) and had no clue about the way the PCA program is run in Massachusetts.  I watched the show thinking, “If I were hosting a show, I’d damn well know what I was talking about before I went on the air.”  But to Mr. Madigan’s credit he learned a lot during the course of the show and, I think, became an ally of PCA’s and consumers by the program’s end.

There was a PCA named Eurius Redfield on the show as well.  He was a pretty good representative of what it is like to be a PCA.  He has three jobs; He’s a PCA, a CNA, and public school teacher in Springfield with children with autism (God knows when he sleeps).  Lots of  PCA’s here work more than one job as they get paid poorly (only $10.84 an hour, 8AM-midnight and $32.52 per overnight from midnight to 8AM entirely).

The only voice of interest missing was interestingly enough, the consumer’s voice.  I’m sure if Rebecca looked hard enough she could have found at least one and probably more than one PCA consumer willing to be on TV.  I, myself, live reasonably close to the TV station in question and could have easily taken the paratransit over if I had been asked to do so.  I’ll mention this obvious to me anyway oversight to Rebecca when I see her next.

You can view the program yourself from any computer.  Let me know what you think and I’ll pass it on to the people who would be interested.