Early Educators At Non-Union Childcare Centers Face Low Wages, Pressure To Skip Breaks And Work Sick, Lack Of Affordable Health Insurance

The vast majority of early educators working at childcare centers in Washington say they face serious workplace challenges, including low wages, inadequate health insurance, and working while sick or skipping legally mandated breaks, according to a survey of 351 non-union childcare workers from a wide range of centers including Bright Horizons, YMCA,  Kindercare, and La Petite Academy.

• LOW PAY: According to respondents, nearly all childcare centers workers (88%) make $29/hour or less, far below what is needed to afford a modest 1-bedroom apartment in Washington. 

• PRESSURE TO SKIP BREAKS, WORK WHILE SICK: Too many early educators (81%) say they have skipped rest or lunch breaks or worked while sick or with a serious medical condition due to understaffing, pressure from managers, not knowing their rights, or inadequate paid time off.

• LACK OF AFFORDABLE HEALTH INSURANCE: Affordable health insurance is a big challenge for more than half of center early educators: 20% rely on taxpayer-funded Apple Health (Medicaid), 11% are uninsured, 10% are paying out of pocket for private insurance, such as on the taxpayer-subsidized ACA exchange, and another 14%  have high premium, high deductible employer-provided insurance.

Respondents listed their current wage range as the following:

• 24% $16.66* - $20 per hour

• 42% $20.01 - $25 per hour

• 18.6% $25.01 - $29 per hour

• 12.3% Over $29 per hour

• 3.1% responded with “I don’t know”

*WA State minimum wage 2025