Joining 200 domestic workers were long-time allies in the struggle for justice, Ed Ott of CUNY Murphy Institute and formerly with the NY Central Labor Council, Jodeen Olguin-Tyler of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Nellini Stamp of the Working Families Party and Occupy Wall Street, and Dorian Warren of Columbia University. They joined us on a panel to discuss the opportunities we have before us to really build power for domestic workers and all people. From the victory of the nation's first Domestic Workers Bill of Rights to the uprisings at Zuccotti Park and around the world, the possibility for change is more palpable than ever before. The leadership of domestic workers - primarily immigrant women of color - is a critical part of building an economy and a society that value people over profits and that recognize our interdependence.
On Saturday, December 3, 2011, domestic workers gathered to take another step in the struggle for justice - to build up our networks, drawing on the dispersed nature of our industry as a source of strength. Workers who attended the convention assembled at tables according to the neighborhoods where they worked, to discuss the impact of the Bill of Rights, the reality of today's working conditions after the introduction and passage of our legislation, and to innovate ways to raise industry standards.
Signing up for job training programs, political education courses, organizing skills building trainings, and to run local meetings throughout the city, more workers are joining the ranks for dignity and respect for all. It's a new day, there's a new standard.
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