We Are Powerful
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Domestic Worker Stories
Domestic Worker Stories
Our network of domestic workers — nannies, housecleaners and home care workers — are countering sweeping societal challenges with creativity, innovation and care. We’re daring to ask what is possible when we empower women of color and build a world that allows all people to live with dignity and respect. This has led to solutions that have changed cultural narratives, created community out of isolation, built power out of disenfranchisement, and created policy solutions for a bolder, more equitable future. Learn more about the women that power this movement.
Guillermina Castellanos has been a leader of the domestic worker movement for over 20 years. Born in Jalisco, Mexico, she began working as a domestic worker as a child and continued after immigrating to the U.S. in 1985. Her mother was also a domestic worker, working as a house cleaner, and her father was a gardener and farmer. In 2000, she co- founded La Colectiva de Mujeres (Women’s Collective) in San Francisco. Guillermina has developed the leadership of hundreds of women, helping them organize for respect and dignity and always with the goal of transforming their lives. In 2005, Guillermina joined the Board of Directors of the National Day Labor Organizing Network. She participated in the founding of the National Domestic Workers Alliance in 2007, and then served on NDWA’s Coordinating Committee. She was also among the NDWA delegation to the International Labor Organization Conference in Geneva, which passed the first International Convention on Domestic Work in 2011.
Silvia Gonzalez is a mother, a domestic worker, an immigrant and a community organizer at Casa Latina, a nonprofit organization working to empower Latino immigrants through economic and educational opportunities. She has participated in many campaigns to improve the working conditions and rights of domestic workers in Seattle. She has been very active in the Caring Across Generations campaign in Seattle, participating in the $15 minimum wage campaign and organizing events to raise awareness around Grandparents Day. Silvia facilitates workshops for Casa Latina to make homecare workers aware of their rights.
Silvia Gonzalez is a mother, a domestic worker, an immigrant and a community organizer at Casa Latina, a nonprofit organization working to empower Latino immigrants through economic and educational opportunities. She has participated in many campaigns to improve the working conditions and rights of domestic workers in Seattle. She has been very active in the Caring Across Generations campaign in Seattle, participating in the $15 minimum wage campaign and organizing events to raise awareness around Grandparents Day. Silvia facilitates workshops for Casa Latina to make homecare workers aware of their rights.
“As domestic workers, we need to continue being instrumental in shaping the future of work.”
Allison Julien is a third generation domestic worker who migrated from Barbados in the early 1990’s and worked as a nanny in New York City for over 25 years. She worked 10-12 hour days with no breaks, without being paid for overtime and faced scrutiny from her employers for being sick. She has been organizing domestic workers for over a decade. She was a leader in the successful campaign to pass the New York State Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in 2010 and was a founding member of the National Domestic Workers Alliance in 2007. As a Dorothy Bolden Fellow, Allison launched the We Dream in Black – New York initiative in NDWA. She currently serves as the We Dream in Black Organizing Director.
Invest in domestic workers and help sustain our movement to reimagine a future that we all deserve.