Domestic Workers Bill of Rights

Domestic Workers United marched on Albany working towards passage of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.  This is major piece of proposed legislation that really requires more than a simple blog post to digest.  So I’ll be talking about the nuts and bolts of this piece over the next week or so.

First, I want to congratulation Domestic Workers United for getting this as far as they have.  Regardless of what you feel about the contents of the bill, you have to give them HUGE credit for their ability to organize, get the attention of the law makers and push the legislation to a vote.  Bottomline is they’re kicking the organizational butt of NANC, INA, APNA and all of the support groups combined.   We (the leadership and membership) could leave some very valuable lessons from DWU.  And as a leader, I’m still trying to figure out what those lesson are. 

The first question that come to mind when writing this post is about language.   “Domestic” is a word that hits a nerve with many nannies.  They see it as demeaning.   They believe that nannies are not on equal footing as housekeepers, a major portion of Domestic Workers United.  I think this language, and the beliefs it represents, is a major stumbling block in truly uniting the whole in-home industry. 

So where do you stand?  Do you believe you are a domestic?  Do you feel this group and this legislation represent you?  Why or why not?