Surprise! No, you’ve not just woken up from a two day long slumber; DoReMI switched diary days with me so I could enjoy Thursday with my Memphis daughter and her two kids. I’ve promised a them a meal at the taqueria, and homemade strawberry ice cream. Oh, and if the weather holds I think we’re going to hit the putt putt links on Friday. My daughter foolishly asked if I thought her 3.5 year old could putt putt — duh, how much fun will it be to watch that unfold. Anyway, thanks for reading and taking my poll.
When we think of traditional roles of women, we often think of wife and mother. Of course we should also include political organizers, and stalwarts of the resistance battles being waged across this country. Maybe it’s because women felt the most aggrieved when it was clear the results on November 8, 2016 presidential election had been manipulated. Maybe it’s something else, but regardless, women have been doing the bulk of the necessary hard work to push back against the worst this administration has to offer.
One group that’s been working even longer for social and political change is the National Domestic Workers Alliance, or NDWA.
Founded in 2007, NDWA works for the respect, recognition, and inclusion in labor protections for domestic workers. The national alliance is powered by over 60 affiliate organizations—plus robust local chapters in Atlanta, Durham, and New York—of over 20,000 nannies, housekeepers, and caregivers for the elderly in 36 cities and 17 states.
www.www.domesticworkers.org/...
NDWA is organizing labor forces with three main efforts — with Black domestic workers via their We Dream in Black movement, with workers in the “gig economy,” and homecare workers.
I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence or part of their organizing strategy, but in 2016 NDWA allowed for memberships from individual domestic workers as well as those represented by unions.
Domestic workers are housekeepers, nannies, and elder care providers. They care for the things we value the most: our families and our homes. They care for our children, provide essential support for seniors and people with disabilities to live with dignity at home, and perform the home care work that makes all other work possible. They are skilled and caring professionals, but for many years, they have labored in the shadows, and their work has not been valued. These workers deserve respect, dignity and basic labor protections.
www.www.domesticworkers.org/...
Here’s why this group is part of my 2020 election spotlight series,
In 2018, NDWA introduced the first-ever portable benefits platform for domestic workers. Through their Families Belong Together campaign, they brought together millions of Americans at more than 600 marches across all 50 states to speak out against the separation of families at the border, and through Care in Action, they organized thousands of domestic workers to volunteer for the historic Stacey Abrams campaign.
www.onwardtogether.org/...
I want to highlight the entire paragraph above for emphasis, but that seemed silly. Just know that this group is already part of the GOTV efforts across this country. This is a group, led by women of color, which just happens to be the base of our party, and it’s no surprise they’re working on issues so important to vulnerable groups.
In addition to what was shared on the OnwardTogether.org website, the NDWA has several important initiatives that they are focused on, although this is not a complete list:
- Domestic Worker Bill of Rights — work at the state level to gain protections for domestic workers
- Beyond Survival — an effort to respond to the problem of human trafficking of domestic workers
- We Belong Together — political action work with women’s, children’s and immigration groups to focus on common sense immigration reform
This is just the latest in my effort to remind ourselves that 2020 is about more than just electing a real President. We’ve got to hold onto the House of Representatives, hopefully flip the Senate, and support our state and local races as well. The big blue wave of 2018 was a wonderful success, let’s build on it to bring an even bigger wave to 2020!