I apologize to all that I've been such a sporadic blogger. My new approach is to do quick and dirty posts, with less pressure on myself, but more frequently. Every week I am learning so much, and I find my head spinning constantly, but I firmly intend to write more. Ok.
So, one component of the Braden program is that we commit 4-8 hours per week as a volunteer at a grassroots, people-of-color-led organization. The organization I'm working with is called Mujeres Unidas y Activas. They are a membership organization of Latina immigrant women, and do leadership development and peer counseling, as well as community organizing. You can check out their amazing work at their website:www.mujeresunidas.net
Right now, the major campaign is working in coalition with other immigrants rights groups in California to win a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, similar to the one passed last year in New York. (Woot! You can learn more about the Bill at http://www.nationaldomesticworkeralliance.org/). Basically, domestic workers and farm workers are the two groups that have been excluded from existing labor laws since the thirties--so this bill would give them access to basic protections like sick days, overtime pay, non-desrimination, a safe work environment, as well as some protections based on the unique nature of domestic work--like eight hours of uninterrupted rest for people who live with their employers.
Domestic Worker orgs tried to pass similar legislation in 2006, but failed because of opposition, some of which came from the disability rights groups. The argument is that things like paid sick days and overtime will make it too expensive for those people with disabilities and elderly people that require care attendants to get the care they need--especially in the contexts of deep budget cuts to social services. (As we know, there's enough money for health and social services AND worker protections if we taxed corporations and didn't spend it all on war... but they have us fighting for crumbs. Anyways.)
So, MUA and the other orgs learned learned that domestic worker orgs alone couldn't win the fight for this bill in California. So they decided to intentionally build with disability rights community and organized elderly folks--to clear up some misunderstandings (the Bill wouldn't apply to publicly paid care attendants), but also to explore the reasons why the Bill of Rights might actually be in the best interest of employers and lead to better standards of care. There are some parts which are just tough, and the interests of domestic workers and care attendant employers don't seem to line up. So there have been ongoing "tensions" meetings to dialogue to work through these places--and will maybe change portions of the bill. A National network of employers of domestic workers supporting workers' rights has been integrally involved--they're called Hand-in-Hand. At every event, press conference, lobby day, there are both domestic workers and employers of domestic workers who speak out in support of the bill. I just thought that this real life example of choosing the path of solidarity instead of letting the powerful get away with pitting oppressed communities against each other was really inspiring and strategic!
There is an amazing article by Ai-jen Poo about the campaign led by Domestic Workers United in New York called "Organizing with Love" You all should read it because she is a visionary! I can't find the link now, but I'll link to an interview with her: http://transformativechange.org/transform/2010/06/ai-jenpoo/
p.s. the name of this post is so named because the Bill of Rights is AB889. Which helpfully rhymes with "yes we can!" in Spanish :)
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