DOMESTIC WORKERS AND THEIR CHILDREN MARCH FOR RIGHTS
Story and photos by David Bacon
Working In These Times, 1/27/12
<http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/12631/domestic_workers_and_their_children_march_for_rights>http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/12631/domestic_workers_and_their_children_march_for_rights
SACRAMENTO, CA - Early Tuesday morning busses of domestic
workers and their children began arriving at the huge grassy mall in
front of California's state capitol building. Dozens of Mexican,
Filipina and African American moms, kids in tow, poured out onto the
steps leading into the legislature's chamber. When the crowd grew to
several hundred, they took up their placards, pushed their strollers
out in front, and began marching around the building.
Some of the kids had clearly done things like this before.
One five-year-old raised her fist in the air as the crowd chanted,
calling on members of the state Assembly and Senate to pass the
Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. Another girl, who looked about
three, knew the chant by heart: "We are the children, mighty mighty
children, fighting for justice and our future." She didn't miss a
beat, and as one of the organizers held the bullhorn up to her mouth
she did a little militant dance to accompany it.
With balloons and even a couple of clowns, it all seemed very
festive. But the happy atmosphere didn't hide a more unpleasant
truth. Many of the moms there probably see less of their own
children than the youngsters they care for. And in the case of those
caring for the aged, sick or disabled, the conditions of that work
can seem like something a century ago.
Domestic workers often don't get a break to eat, even working
many more than the eight-hour workday considered normal for most
workers. Others cook for the families they work for, but can't use
the same implements to cook for themselves. If they have to sleep in
the homes of clients, they often have to get up during the night
several times to perform basic services for them, like taking them to
the bathroom, or giving them medicine. And the night is considered a
rest period, for which they sometimes don't get paid.
One Filipina caregiver from the East Bay explained that she
sleeps in the same bed as her client. "What I'd like would be a bed
where I could sleep by myself," she said.
Even at five or six, the kids marching with their moms are
old enough to understand a little of those bitter truths. When one
young girl, who looked about kindergarten age, held up a sign saying
"trabajo digno," or "decent work," she knew enough to explain, "she
doesn't get enough money, and she works too hard."
Last year the state Assembly passed AB 889, authored by
Assembly members Tom Ammiano and V. Manuel Perez, that would give
domestic workers some state-recognized rights in their efforts to
curb abusive conditions. It would provide meal and rest breaks,
overtime and reporting pay as enjoyed by other workers, and expand
domestic workers' access to workers compensation. In addition, it
would guarantee eight hours of sleep for those who work around the
clock, and allow them to use kitchen facilities.
The bill would affect the 200,000 people who work in
California domestic service, who are almost entirely women, and
immigrants or people of color. While domestic workers face the same
excuses for substandard conditions faced by other women, namely that
they're only working to supplement the income of men, most of them
are either the sole source of income for their families, or are
bringing home pay that their families can't live without. One woman
explained that she was still working many more than 40 hours a week,
and was in her 70s.
The Domestic Workers Bill of Rights is modeled on one that
was enacted in New York State in 2010. It is supported by dozens of
statewide worker and community advocates, including the California
Labor Federation and many other unions, Filipino Advocates for
Justice, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles,
Mujeres Unidas y Activas, the Women's Collective of the San Francisco
Day Labor Program, a number of churches and synagogues, and Hand in
Hand, the Domestic Workers Employers Association. Its main opponent
is the business association for agencies that provide domestic
workers to clients.
At the end of the last session of the legislature, the bill
was in the appropriations committee of the state Senate. The
marchers hoped to pry the bill loose, get it passed through the
Senate, and convince Governor Jerry Brown to sign it. One of several
legislators who spoke to the crowd, Watsonville Assembly member Bill
Monning explained in Spanish, "This bill is just, and we're going to
make sure it becomes law and that domestic workers finally get the
same basic rights as other workers."
For more articles and images, see http://dbacon.igc.org
See also Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and
Criminalizes Immigrants (Beacon Press, 2008)
Recipient: C.L.R. James Award, best book of 2007-2008
http://www.beacon.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=2002
See also the photodocumentary on indigenous migration to the US
Communities Without Borders (Cornell University/ILR Press, 2006)
http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/cup_detail.taf?ti_id=4575
See also The Children of NAFTA, Labor Wars on the U.S./Mexico Border
(University of California, 2004)
http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9989.html
--
__________________________________
David Bacon, Photographs and Stories
http://dbacon.igc.org
__________________________________
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe: <mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe: <mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Digest: <mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help: <mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post: <mailto:la...@egroups.com>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com
laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
