The National Domestic Workers Alliance is an advocacy organization promoting the rights of domestic workers in the United States. Founded in 2007, it is made up of 4 local chapters and 63 affiliate organizations around the country, along with thousands of individual members.[1][2] Their work advocates for low-income laborers in the context of broader social justice issues, including immigration reform, domestic violence, and more recently the #MeToo movement[3] and the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

There are two million domestic workers in the US, most of whom are immigrants and women of color. They are a very diverse and largely overlooked group, and most make less than 13 dollars an hour.[5]

The NDWA advocates for a Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights, including overtime pay, one day off per week, and protection under state human rights laws.[2] A version of this bill of rights was passed in New York in 2010 thanks to the NDWA's advocacy, and similar legislation has recently been introduced in California.[2][6]

Ai-jen Poo is the president and Jenn Stowe is the executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance.[7] Poo was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her mother was a PhD student, so she was raised largely by the women in her community. When Poo was studying at Columbia, she started volunteering with the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence, which is where she became aware of the overlooked needs of domestic workers.[7]

In 2014, she was awarded a MacArthur fellowship, "a five-year grant given to the nation’s most exceptionally creative individuals, to fund her vibrant, worker-led movement to transform the working conditions and labor standards for private-household workers."[5]

Alicia Garza, who co-founded the Black Lives Matter network, is the Director of Strategy and Partnerships at the National Domestic Workers Alliance.[8]

References

  1. ^ "About Us | National Domestic Workers Alliance". www.domesticworkers.org. Archived from the original on 2018-03-26. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  2. ^ a b c Hilgers, Lauren (2019-02-21). "The New Labor Movement Fighting for Domestic Workers' Rights". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
  3. ^ "Meeting rallies to 'stand with those whose backs are against the wall'". Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  4. ^ Woodruff, Judy (2021-03-24). "Ai-jen Poo, Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance". PBS NewsHour. Brief but Spectacular. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  5. ^ a b Hilgers, Lauren (2019-02-21). "The New Labor Movement Fighting for Domestic Workers' Rights". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  6. ^ New York State Department of Labor. "Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights". Archived from the original on 2018-05-25.
  7. ^ a b "53: National Domestic Workers Alliance names new executive director". Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  8. ^ "Spokespersons | National Domestic Workers Alliance". domesticworkers.org. Retrieved 2020-04-27.