Childcare educators and CSEA/VOICE members Keishya Coltrain and Richard Morris visited Washington D.C. alongside AFSCME to advocate for fellow educators and the children and families they serve on a national level. Coltrain and Morris break down the vital role childcare educators play in maintaining the workforce by ensuring children are taken care of safely while their parents are at work. Both Coltrain and Morris detail the impact on children when educators are not supported by state or local funding.

Keishya Coltrain is a long time advocate, speaking out against the issues that impact the families we serve. She is from Suffolk County.

“We are essential to keeping this country going, because if we don’t do what we do, mom and dad don’t get to work. People are finding it very hard to get childcare, and it’s going to get increasingly harder going forward because people in the industry don’t feel valued. They’re not getting paid what they should get paid. We deserve to be able to be paid a fair and good living wage because we care for our future.”

-Keishya Coltrain

Richard Morris is an advocate as well as a Chapter 20 representative in Monroe County, who continually speaks out in support of building up his fellow educators to ensure children are taken care of while parents are at work.

“We are the backbone to the community, so the parents can go to work without having to feel like they need to look for someone and without worrying if their children are getting proper care. Without the right funding or proper budget toward childcare, I think some kids get left behind or they slip through the cracks.”

-Richard Morris

View this video on AFSCME’s Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1469962258016449