As housing costs soar, workers are left out in the cold

Deshundre Richee dreams of having a big house one day. A home where he can raise his two kids. A place where he can have a barbeque, play with his family in the yard and give them the best life possible. 

But for Deshundre, a custodian at UCLA Health and a member of AFSCME Local 3299, that dream is a long way off.  

For the past two years, he’s been living at the Los Angeles Mission, a homeless shelter in downtown L.A.  

Even though he works for a world-class, billion-dollar institution, he doesn’t earn enough to afford housing for himself. Yet his role – cleaning and sanitizing rooms for patients – is a crucial part of patient care.  

Without us, doctors wouldn’t be able to come in and treat the patients. It’s got to be cleaned properly. We work for the finest hospital, yet the employees are struggling,” says Deshundre. “It’s like we’re at the bottom and the hospital discards us.

Housing has been front and center in recent strikes by service and patient care workers represented by Deshundre Richee’s union, AFSCME Local 3299. 

They are demanding fair wages for the front-line workers who keep hospitals, higher education institutions and communities running. And they are spotlighting the hypocrisy of their employer, as it offers senior executives lavish housing benefits while doing nothing for workers like Deshundre.

And they are demanding answers to the question that Deshundre asks: “Where’s the shot for your workers?”