Subscribe to this blog's feedSeveral Liberty Hill grantee organizations are hoping that the success of the movie The Help means greater visibility for domestic workers as the California State Senate Appropriations Committee votes this Friday on the California Domestic Worker Bill of Rights (AB 889).
The Help, which recently opened in theaters nationwide, features the story of a group of African-American housekeepers in the 1960s and their white socialite employers, and the difficult conditions these workers endured. Unfortunately, some things haven’t changed for domestic workers since the Civil Rights era. Today, activists want fans of the film and the wider public to be aware of the current struggles domestic workers face.
Domestic workers are not covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act or by California’s Occupational, Safety and Health Administration (Cal-OSHA). Although domestic workers in California are eligible for the state minimum wage, they are exempted from other protections such as overtime, workers’ compensation and meal breaks.
“This inequality, we see that it really devalues domestic workers,” says Aquillina Soriano-Versoza, Executive Director of the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC), which along with Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles (CHIRLA) is a leadership coordinator for the statewide campaign for the California Domestic Worker Bill of Rights. "It’s rooted in slavery and racism and seeing domestic workers as servants, rather than workers.”
AB 889 lead authors are Assemblymember Tom Ammiano and Assemblymember V. Manuel Perez. Co-sponsors are Assemblymembers Felipe Fuentes, Fiona Ma, Gilbert Cedillo, Michael Allen, William W. Monning and State Senators Juan Vargas and Kevin de Leon. The bill covers all domestic workers, including housekeepers, personal attendants and nannies. Key provisions include:
• equal overtime pay
• the right to workers compensation coverage
• the right to sleep eight hours uninterrupted
• the right to cook one’s own food
• the right to pay when an employee shows up for work and the employer cancels the job
According to Soriano-Versoza, there are about 200,000 housekeepers, nannies and personal attendants in California. Ninety-three percent are women, 65 percent are Latino and 7.4% are Asian. Most are immigrants.
PWC’s membership includes personal attendants, many of whom Soriano-Versoza says, provide 24-hour care to their clients. That can present special challenges. Many caregivers suffer from lack of sleep, back injuries, and lack of proper equipment or training. They often work five to seven days straight without a break. “This really wears down on their bodies, and really decreases the quality of care they can provide,” says Soriano Versoza.
The statewide campaign supporting AB 889 includes Liberty Hill grantees Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE), Progressive Jewish Alliance and other workers rights groups, interfaith organizations, student and employers groups.
Soriano-Versoza said PWC caregivers have traveled to Sacramento and testified at committee hearings in support of the bill. The group has also organized legislative visits, media campaigns, press conferences, coalition building, and appeared on radio programs. Coinciding with The Help opening, PWC members flew a banner in support of domestic workers on a downtown Los Angeles overpass, handed out flyers outside a theater in Westwood, and did a media action in San Francisco.
Despite these efforts, Soriano-Versoza says the bill still faces stiff opposition from third party agencies that hire caregivers. A similar bill was vetoed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006. But, Soriano-Versoza remains optimistic. “It’s a very big, uphill battle from here. We have a lot of momentum,” says Soriano Versoza. “This could very well be the year.”
This video from the National Domestic Workers Alliance makes the connection between the movie's Then and our real-world Now.
Sylvia Moore is a fellow at Liberty Hill.
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