A friend sent this email about the Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights, which is pending approval in the NY State Legislature. If this is something you want to support, there are only three weeks left in the legislative session and every voice of support matters. Here is my friend's email:
As
an employer of a wonderful nanny for the past 10 years, I got involved
with the campaign for Domestic Workers' Rights in appreciation for all
of her hard work. Many of you may remember being a new parent and a
new employer, and having to compare notes with other parents about
vacaction pay, sick days and pay increases for caregivers. These are
important matters that affect the 200,000 domestic workers in the NY
Metropolitan area — they are matters that shouldn't be left to
individuals' discretion or to be hashed out on park benches and
internet groups.
I'm asking
that you take a look at the information here and then:
- Call
your local State Assembly and State Senate representatives and urge
them to vote YES! on the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. - Plan to attend any of the events listed below
- Spread
the word to your friends, caregivers and organizations you are involved
with and encourage them to make calls and also attend these events
With your help we can bring more respect to the work that makes other work possible.
Five years ago, the Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights was
first presented to NY State legislators about five years ago. There is now more momentum than ever before towards the bill being
passed – hopefully this legislative session.
At last month's Lobby Day event Speaker Sheldon Silver
met with DWU representatives and, for the first time in five years,
promised to look at the Bill more closely and give it serious
consideration for a floor vote. For more information and news about the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights visit: http://domesticworkersbillofrights.pbworks.com/Recent-Press
My employers paid taxes on my salary, so that they could take the IRS childcare tax deduction. I got room, board, a phone, cable television, vacation pay. No other benefits. Both parents were doctors at UCSF and I went to their clinic and Medi-Cal paid for it. Any plan which will standardize benefits for ALL domestic workers in the USA would be terrific. I worked from about 7AM to 8PM! For some reason, my computer will not delete these typing errors following.. benefitsab
I read some cited abuses on DWU’s site — like not reimbursed by the empolyer. Do we need another legislation to fix that? Come on. The existing law just need to enforced. Take the employer to small claims court with the receipts! Or ask DWU to help and get reimbursed.
The main things DWU wanted constitutes a pay raise for the Domestic Workers (paid leave, severance, health benefits, etc). Do they not realize from the UAW/GM headlines that, if the cost of hiring domestic help raises dramatically, the employer will either go BK or layoff. Then results higher unemployment rates among the DW’s.
Sameer: Why are you assuming that this employer doesn’t pay her nanny a fair wage? And why are you assuming that other nannies generally don’t deserve a fair wage?
This bill isn’t about determining the best or worst nannies. It’s about getting the basic labor rights that people in all other lines of work have.
MLB: All workers, even undocumented workers, are still supposed to be protected by the most basic employment labor laws. http://www.workplacefairness.org/sc/undocumentedworkers.php
Wouldn’t it be great if those hard working women finally got some rights?
“As an employer of a wonderful nanny for the past 10 years, I got involved with the campaign for Domestic Workers’ Rights in appreciation for all of her hard work.”
Rather than paying my own nanny more money to appreciate her hard work, I decided to force other people to pay their nannies more, even if said nannies don’t deserve it. I’m sure your own nanny really appreciates that she’s been busting her ass for ten years just so other nannies who don’t work as hard can get paid more.
wtf?!
Does this mean that the folks that are supporting this bill of rights are now supporting paying the domestic workers on the books? My recollection about nannies being paid in the Slope was that they were generally paid in cash and neither the domestic worker or the families they worked for paid any taxes on the salaries. Maybe things have changed?