We have a dream that one day, all work
will be valued equally.
Founded in 2000, Domestic Workers United [DWU] is an organization of Caribbean, Latina and African nannies, housekeepers, and elderly caregivers in New York, organizing for power, respect, fair labor standards and to help build a movement to end exploitation and oppression for all.
Domestic Workers Gather for National Congress
02 Jun 2008
From June 5 to 8, a new national alliance of domestic workers organizations will hold the first-ever National Domestic Workers Congress to support the New York State Domestic Workers Bill of Rights and to build a national movement of domestic workers. The NYS Domestic Workers Bill of Rights is the first state bill in the nation that would protect domestic workers and recognize the workforce as a real workforce.
Organized by the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the Congress will bring together workers from Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, Washington DC, Miami, Seattle, Colorado, New York, Houston and San Antonio to share strategies, begin to develop a national agenda, and march to pass the NY Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.
"In New York City and all across the U.S., domestic workers do the work that makes all other work possible, but for far too long we have been unprotected, and our labor unrecognized. It's about time we have our time," said Barbara Young, a nanny and member of DWU. "And this national congress will begin to build a movement to reverse the legacy of slavery and exclusion that has historically made us vulnerable to abuse."
The Bill of Rights, introduced by Assemblyman Keith Wright [Bill #A628B and S5235], calls for the establishment of basic labor protections for the more than 200,000 domestic workers in the Greater Metropolitan Area of New York. Currently, one-third of all domestic workers face some form of abuse from their employers. Most domestic workers work with no paid vacations or holidays, and the vast majority work without health insurance or paid sick days. On April 15 and May, 20, more than 300 domestic workers and their supporters journeyed to Albany to call for respect and recognition, meeting with more than 50 legislators. In addition to these legislative visits, DWU held a colorful and energized rally that featured AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, whose mother was a domestic worker for many years. The Bill currently has 42 Assembly co-sponsors.