Since the abolition of institutionalized slavery, domestic workers have been invisible, exploited and left out of labor protections and the labor movement. Their labor has rarely been recognized by lawmakers or society at large as “real work.” However, in global cities like New York, the domestic work industry is expanding, providing childcare and home care while their employers go to work. Today, the New York City economy is supported by one of the largest domestic worker labor forces in the country. Still, working conditions have improved little since the 1860s. Once a field for predominantly African American women, the domestic work industry is now dominated by immigrant women fleeing the widespread destruction and devastation left by the globalization process in the Third World. Domestic workers, especially live-in workers, work long hours, have little job security, and no control over living or working conditions. Domestic workers are isolated in their workplace, forced to negotiate conditions one-on-one with employers. There are no clear standards for domestic employment and the few protections that exist are rarely enforced.
Domestic Workers United is an alliance of domestic workers and domestic worker organizations working to build power among domestic workers, raise the level of respect for domestic work and establish fair labor standards in the domestic work industry of New York City. DWU has initiated a campaign to amend New York State Labor Law to ensure domestic workers receive living wages and fair benefits, are protected from trafficking, recognized as employees and entitled to protections under state labor law and human rights law.
Because the domestic work industry is fragmented, informal and underground, it is impossible to rely on Census or labor data to analyse industry-wide trends. DWU and DataCenter are collaborating on a community documentation project to gather data on practices and issues within the industry. Using a participatory, community-based research model, the project engages domestic workers in all aspects of the research and analysis. The documentation project will be used in organizing, policy and media work to improve conditions for domestic workers.
For further information contact Domestic Workers United.
Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) workers and their allies emerged victorious from a 5-year national boycott of Mount Olive Pickle Company, winning union representation and higher wages for more than 8000 cucumber pickers brought to North Carolina farms through the federal H-2A visa program. The agreement between FLOC, the North Carolina Growers Association and Mount Olive Pickle Company represents another success in holding major food packaging corporations responsible for the working conditions of the farm laborers who supply their vegetables.
Young people from environmental justice communities around the U.S. and abroad converged in Flagstaff, Arizona at the base of the sacred mountain known as the San Francisco Peaks for the ALL PEOPLES POWER SUMMIT: Building Communities of Hope, Strength, and Sustainability in July. Hosted by the Black Mesa Water Coalition, a grassroots coalition of Navajo and Hopi youths and young adults working together for environmental justice, the Summit took place at the site of one of the most heated sacred land-protection struggles in North America today.
Keynote speaker Winona Laduke emphasized the importance of information in the hands of our communities fighting for environmental justice. At a DataCenter popular education workshop “research-for-action: Building an Effective Campaign to Win!,” participants practiced developing a research plan rooted in a community environmental justice agenda. A power mapping workshop also led by DataCenter helped participants visualize the power relations that must be altered through their campaigns.
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