Gisela Fosado, "Introduction"
(page 2 of 3)
The second part of this issue, "Working for Change," features
documentation and analysis of some of the exemplary organizing work done
by the National Domestic Workers Alliance and their allies. Some of the
material stems from the Barnard Center for Research on Women's two-year
project focusing on domestic workers and specifically working in
collaboration with Domestic Workers United and the National Domestic
Workers Alliance. BCRW has often undertaken projects related to women
and work and work-life balance issues as a way to raise awareness about
the various ways in which women's labor is systematically devalued in
the U.S. and globally. This collaboration with NDWA has been one of our
latest women and work-related projects. It includes the production of
the film, Women and Work: Feminists in Solidarity with Domestic
Workers, and culminates in the publication of this issue of S&F
Online.
Ai-jen Poo, who leads the second part of this issue, provides a vivid
example from her own life showing how the work of feeling interconnected
is essential to humanity. Her poignant essay not only analyzes the
essence of care work, but also focuses on the urgent campaign for a bill
of rights in New York. Five moving testimonies by NDWA domestic workers
and organizers follow, as they present their insights during a public
event at Barnard College. They not only detail their extensive
experiences as domestic workers, but also discuss how they conceptualize
the origins of their marginalized status. They detail the way both
domestic work and farm work were excluded from the legal concept of
'labor,' largely because this work had been associated historically with
work of slaves and immigrants. Leah Obias,
an organizer with DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association (a founding member of the NDWA),
curated the slideshow on the front page of the issue, documenting NDWA's
work since its inception in 2007. She also contributed a short essay
detailing highlights of NDWA's organizing work and the history of this
young and vibrant organization. Longtime community activist and
scholar Premilla Nadasen's contribution concludes the textual analysis
of NDWA's and Domestic Workers United's campaign work for a bill of
rights in New York. She examines the various legal limitations in the
U.S. over the last century that have made this work sector so
vulnerable, and she comments on the stellar organizing work that she has
witnessed and supported in New York through Domestic Workers United.
Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, a New York City based
organization, has worked with Domestic Workers United since 2002 to
obtain basic worker rights for domestic workers through their Shalom
Bayit campaign. Joining DWU's marches and other actions, they have
worked to raise awareness and to change policy in New York City and
State. The four testimonies included in this issue, by Donna Schneiderman and her daughter,
Gayle Kirshenbaum and Judith Trachtenberg, all
employers of domestic workers, were read during vigils and other actions
over the past few years. They provide helpful insights as to how
employers can contribute to justice for domestic workers. As Gloria
Steinem says in BCRW's video Women and Work, many women employers
feel guilty about hiring domestic workers, when it is more helpful and
productive to ensure that in hiring a domestic worker, one is creating a
good job. And as the JFREJ campaign shows, employers can also
contribute to advocacy for justice.
Part 2 also includes two videos produced by allies of Domestic
Workers United. The first is a collaborative video by Domestic Workers
United and Third World Newsreel that aims to introduce audiences to the
organizing work done by DWU, as well as to raise awareness about the
campaign to gain basic worker protection for domestic workers. The
second short video, Women and Work: Feminists in Solidarity with
Domestic Workers, directed and produced by BCRW, features a slew of
feminists with whom BCRW has collaborated over the years, including
Gloria Steinem, the Guerrilla Girls, Liz Abzug, Maria Hinojosa '84, Amy
Richards '92, and many other prominent leaders who all make statements
supporting the work done by the National Domestic Workers Alliance and
Domestic Workers United.
We end this introduction with the inspirational words of Linda Abad,
an organizer with DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association
and the moderator at the "Women and Work: Building
Solidarity with America's Vulnerable Workers" event who eloquently
states her organization's goals: "Let it be clear to all of us that the
essence of our fight for the bill of rights is far beyond our labor
rights. This is about the struggle of immigrant women workers in the
U.S. against modern day slavery, against oppressive and exploitative
systems of classism, racism and patriarchy. This is about reclaiming
and recognizing the value of women's work. This is about women's
emancipation and class liberation."
Endnotes
1. Paul Vitello,
"Couple
Held Two Servants Captive for Years, U.S. Says", New York
Times 15 May 2007; Ground Report,
"Ex-Teacher
Maude Paulin Convicted of Forcing Slavery", 21 May 2008; Sarah Fitzpatrick,
"Diplomatic
Immunity Leaves Abused Workers in Shadows", Washington Post 20 September 2009. [Return to text]
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