Nanny describes penniless Christmas due to unpaid wages at Domestic Workers Convention

Deyanira Barrow describes immigrating to the US in 1988, "I came very young with many dreams, wanting to know new cultures...a new world." A few weeks after being placed in live-in nanny position in Los Angeles, her employer stopped paying her wages claiming bankruptcy. Leaving empty handed, she ended up in the hospital for a stress related condition. She spent "a Christmas without a penny in my purse, with only the care of my friends."

A New Day, A New Standard/ New York Domestic Workers Convention

Members of Las Mujeres de Santa Maria from Staten Island strategize at the Domestic Worker Convention earlier today as daughter helps her mom sign the JOIN THE MOVEMENT PLEDGE for National Domestic Workers Alliance (image below).

Domestic Workers and the Occupy Movement

Domestic workers are part of the 99%. We know all too well the disparities and economic injustices caused by Wall Street’s greed and exploitation. We work in the homes of Wall Street bankers and America’s 1%, taking care of their families and most prized possessions. As our communities are rising up through the Occupy/De-Colonize movement demanding justice and direct democracy, we are standing hand-in-hand with everyone across the country and around the world during this important time of resistance. We have an opportunity to build a new economy, one that values people over profit and functions on the principle that our well-being is interconnected. Dignity and respect for all. CLICK HERE to check out the statement by local NY affiliates of the National Domestic Workers Alliance.

DWU Expands Partnerships and Builds on Bill of Rights Victory with Caring Across Generations National Campaign Launch

As we neared the finish line of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights campaign in NY, we knew as a national movement that our journey was just beginning. The struggle would need to continue to truly transform the industry in which over 2.5 million domestic workers labor everyday across the country. A bold vision would be needed to lift up the value of care in our society: a vision that would engage greater numbers of people, rooted in an understanding that we all have a stake. We are all facing similar changes, as more and more families struggle with providing long-term quality care for loved ones, and as more and more workers are pulled in to provide that vital care.

On July 12, 2012, a delegation of 20 DWU members traveled to the nation’s capital for the historic launch of the Caring Across Generations campaign, led by the National Domestic Workers Alliance and Jobs with Justice and many other partners. CAG offers a comprehensive solution for jobs creation, training, pathway to citizenship, fair labor standards, support for individual families to afford quality care, and an opportunity to build a movement that can uplift the soul of this nation. DWU leader Marlene Champion shared her powerful story at the first Care Congress, about her experience working as an elder caregiver and how important she knows her job to be. While in DC, DWU members also rallied beside hundreds of senior groups, disability rights groups, and various community organizations before the Senate to protect Medicaid and to demand a principled approach to the national deficit. DWU is playing an important role in the local organizing in NY to bring home this national campaign through the launch of a Care Council in partnership with ALIGN and Jewish Funds for Justice & Progressive Jewish Alliance. Read more about the Caring Across Generations campaign and Marlene’s story at http://www.caringacrossgenerations.org.

DWU Organizes NY Domestic Worker Convention: One Year after the Bill of Rights

On December 3^rd, DWU is hosting the 2^nd NYC Domestic Workers Convention. The convention will gather hundreds of domestic workers one year after the passage of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights to set next steps in our struggle for respect and recognition. Domestic workers will come together to network, discuss the impact of the Bill of Rights and current political and economic climate, share stories and testimony about the current work conditions on the ground, and join forces to build innovative strategies for expanding the rights and protections granted to domestic workers. The convention will also provide Know Your Rights education, training on negotiating with employers, and access to free legal support and consultation from our various partners. Former NY Governor David Paterson who signed the Bill of Rights into law in 2010 will deliver the keynote speech, pledging his ongoing support for organizing among domestic workers.

DWU Launches Domestic Worker Legal Clinic with the Urban Justice Center

In partnership with the Urban Justice Center, DWU launched a legal clinic to expand our capacity to win justice for domestic workers whose rights, including those enshrined in provisions of the newly-enacted Bill of Rights, have been violated. To date, we have supported over 60 workers to either file claims with the NY Department of Labor or negotiate directly with employers to recuperate back-wages. The legal clinic has allowed us greater capacity to support more workers to bring forward claims that help us ensure that the DoL can effectively enforce the law. Finally, the legal clinic is serving as a way for us to continue to document the ongoing vulnerabilities workers face.

DWU & JFREJ Launch the Domestic Justice Dialogue Project

Our partnership with Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ) has been one of the most hopeful and transformative strategies in our work for domestic worker justice. Currently, we are embarking on a new joint venture called the Domestic Justice Dialogue Project. The project brings together employers and domestic workers to dialogue about their respective experiences in the industry, build relationships and trust across differences, and work together to strengthen the movement for respect, dignity, and fair labor standards. The project has already launched conversations in at least two congregations in Brooklyn, and begun work on a community banner project with Groundswell Community Mural Project that will display information about the NY Domestic Workers Bill of Rights and lift up the value of care work in and around Park Slope, Brooklyn.