A personal assistant in New York's Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) has filed federal labor charges against both sides of the union drive that would put about 190,000 CDPAP caregivers into 1199SEIU, and has asked to become a party to the election case.
National Labor Relations Board records show two charges filed Oct. 13, 2026, in the board's Buffalo region: one against 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East (case 03-CB-396946) and one against Public Partnerships LLC, or PPL (case 03-CA-396965). The election case docket (03-RC-395461) lists a motion from an intervenor the same day. The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, whose staff attorneys represent the caregiver, announced the filings Oct. 14.
What she is arguing
According to the foundation, the caregiver, Elena Rizzo, cares for her fiancé through CDPAP. Her charge against PPL is listed by the NLRB as an unlawful-assistance allegation. The foundation says it accuses PPL of helping the union gather support for its petition, and the union of asking for and accepting that help.
Her motion to intervene argues that PPL, the program's statewide fiscal intermediary, handles payroll and paperwork but is not the employer. In her view, the people who hire their own aides are. The union's petition names PPL as the employer.
These are allegations, and the NLRB has not ruled on the charges or the motion. The union filed its election petition Sept. 22, 2026.
Why this matters for providers and DSPs
The question of who employs a caregiver in self-direction affects much more than one union vote. If the NLRB treats a single statewide intermediary as the employer, the decision could become a model for organizing in other self-directed programs. If it treats each participant as the employer, a statewide bargaining unit gets much harder to form. Agencies and families who use self-directed personal care assistants in New York should watch the Buffalo region's decision on the motion.