NDWA Celebrates International Domestic Workers’ Day 2022 and Calls for Passage of a National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 16, 2022
CONTACT: Christina Coleman christinacoleman@domesticworkers.org

National Domestic Workers Alliance, Care in Action Celebrate International Domestic Workers’ Day 2022 and Call for Passage of a National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights

WASHINGTON – Today is International Domestic Workers’ Day, marking the 11th anniversary of the passage of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 189 for Decent Work for Domestic Workers, which established international labor law for domestic workers. Over the years, the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) and Care in Action have helped drive forward a movement that is producing real results for working families while building a more equitable, dignified future for all.

NDWA President and Care in Action Senior Advisor Ai-jen Poo and NDWA Executive Director Jenn Stowe issued the joint statement below today:

“On International Domestic Workers’ Day, we honor the nannies, house cleaners, and home care workers who do the essential work to care for our families that makes all other work possible. Yet the work is often done in isolation, behind closed doors, and subject to unsafe and uncertain working conditions. And while we have made progress over the years, most nannies, house cleaners, and home care workers are not adequately protected. Their work is valuable, but it isn’t valued.”

“That’s why it is so critical that the United States pass the National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights that Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand introduced last year to finally enact commonsense rights and workplace protections for domestic workers across this country. Our movement has won 11 state-wide and three city-level Domestic Workers Bills of Rights, and it’s past time to extend these protections to all domestic workers across the country.”

“The pandemic not only showed us how essential domestic work is to our country, it also underscored that all who do domestic work deserve to have our work honored with the dignity that comes from good wages, benefits, and collective bargaining rights. For all the progress we’ve made over the years, there is still much left to be done. And we are committed to continuing this fight until we get the job done.”

Join domestic workers in calling for dignity, respect, and safety this International Domestic Workers Day on June 16! Call your member of Congress at 1-855-688-5524 and tell them to pass the National Domestic Worker Bill of Rights.

National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) is the leading voice for dignity and fairness for millions of domestic workers in the United States. Founded in 2007, NDWA works for respect, recognition and inclusion in labor protections for domestic workers, the majority of whom are immigrants and women of color. NDWA is powered by over 70 affiliate organizations and local chapters and by a growing membership base of nannies, house cleaners and care workers in over 20 states. NDWA has created Alia, an online platform to help domestic workers access benefits, not otherwise granted to them, in addition to introducing a National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights with now-Vice President Kamala Harris and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal in 2019. Learn more at www.domesticworkers.org.

Care in Action is the policy and advocacy home for women who care, working on behalf of more than two million domestic workers and care workers across America. Among the fastest-growing sectors in our economy, domestic workers are also among the most vulnerable and undervalued. As a mostly women and majority women of color workforce, this growing constituency consistently and overwhelmingly supports progressive values in American political life. Learn more at www.careinaction.us.