The new contract means that more than 40,000 workers will see a bump in pay.

It’s labor intensive, and caregiver wages are most of the cost. Still, workers, mostly women of color, make “near-poverty wages.”

Workers hope to strengthen an industry that has become even more precarious.

About 350,000 child care workers are currently out of a job.

Politicians are touting reform to help parents pay for increasing child care costs. Childcare workers and early educators say they need those reforms as well.