NDWA September Domestic Worker Newsletter
![NDWA September Domestic Worker Newsletter]()
NDWA September Domestic Worker Newsletter: Finding Strength Together
NDWA Worker Newsletter - Fall 2024
NDWA September Domestic Worker Newsletter: Finding Strength Together
NDWA Worker Newsletter - Fall 2024
Summer draws many of us to the water, where we find comfort in its ebb and flow, its cleansing nature. Grief is much like the ocean—it comes in waves, sometimes gentle, sometimes crushing. This summer at NDWA, we lost a beloved member of our community and realized that the waves of life can be calmed by finding a life raft in one another. As Fall sets in and we move into the intensity of the election season, we move forward stronger together.
What You’ll Find the September 2024 Newsletter:
Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Ayanna Smith
Take the 2024 NDWA Community Survey
Campaign Updates: 2024 Has Been a Big Year for Domestic Worker Bills of Rights
Everyone is Talking about Care
We Dream in Black Organizing Institute
For NDWA Members: Worker Council Elections, Member Benefits and More!
On July 14th, we lost a cherished sister, daughter, friend and esteemed community leader: Ayanna Smith. Ayanna was a Lead Organizer in NDWA’s Georgia-We Dream in Black Chapter and was a talented creatress who contributed deeply to NDWA’s culture change work. She was a dedicated community movement builder who advocated for both social and global justice and focused on expanding the rights and capacities of Black women and families. She created healing justice initiatives, community altars and murals, and wellness spaces that fostered strength and resilience. Ayanna is the embodiment of community care.
As we work to grow our movement, we want to hear from you about what it means to be part of NDWA. It will just take a few minutes to fill out our online 2024 NDWA Community Survey, and your ideas will help us become the most powerful domestic worker organization we can possibly be!
All dues-paying NDWA members – plus many other domestic workers who are active in NDWA but not yet members – received a text with a personalized link to complete the survey. Check your texts from 33843 and use the link you find there. Didn’t receive a link? No problem! You can use this one.
Don’t delay! The deadline to complete the survey is September 9th. As an added incentive, when you complete the survey you’ll be entered for a chance to win $200. 5 lucky people will win!
Ever since being excluded from critical labor rights in the 1930s, domestic workers have been organizing and fighting back! For example, our movement ancestors won the right to inclusion in the Federal minimum wage in 1974 – 40 years after other workers won that right! At NDWA, we’re part of a long tradition of organizing and winning, and one of our generation’s most powerful tools is to win Domestic Worker Bills of Rights at the state and local level. Our Bills of Rights close the gaps in protections and get use closer to our vision of fair work for all nannies, housecleaners and home care workers.
This year, we’ve been winning big! On June 13th, Rhode Island became the 12th state to pass a Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, extending state minimum wage and overtime protections to nannies, housecleaners, and homecare workers. The bill, championed by the Rhode Island AFL-CIO and supported by groups like NDWA and Fuerza Laboral, marks a significant victory for domestic workers in the state. Congratulations to our partners and all Rhode Island domestic workers!
And in case you missed it, earlier this year, New Jersey’s Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights was signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy, making it the 11th state to secure these essential protections! This victory, led by the NJ Domestic Worker Coalition and supported by grassroots organizing from domestic workers across the state, extends crucial labor rights to over 50,000 domestic workers who were previously excluded from state laws. Congratulations to all the domestic workers and organizers in New Jersey for this significant achievement!
We’re not stopping there! While we keep winning in states, we’re also working to win a National Domestic Worker Bill of Rights that would cover all domestic workers throughout the U.S. If you haven’t already signed the National Bill of Rights petition, you can here!
For generations, domestic workers and our supporters have been pushing for our work to be recognized as a pillar that holds up communities and the economy. We’re finally breaking through, and it seems like everyone is talking about care: how much it’s needed by everyone in this country, the urgency of investing public funding for care, and the necessity of making care jobs good jobs.
Last month, NDWA and our care coalition partners set out on a nationwide bus tour to highlight the importance of care and inspire action. Starting in Chicago, we spent six days traveling to diverse communities to push for the care policies we all need. Along the way, we were welcomed by and rallied with fellow workers, partners, lawmakers, and even a dancing Elmo—all united in our commitment to our collective future, made possible by care.
The tour isn’t over yet! If you missed the in-person stops, you can still join us! The Care Can’t Wait Bus Tour is going virtual and coming to a screen near you on September 17. Sign up now to stay updated with more details about the virtual stop!
The elections in November will be the true test of how much care is becoming a defining issue in this country. NDWA’s sister organization, Care in Action, will be inviting domestic workers to help talk with voters about care and encourage them to vote for candidates who will support our issues. Stay tuned for an invitation from Care in Action to get involved!
We Dream in Black (WeDiB) is an initiative of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and is the organizing home that centers the voices and experiences of Black, Afro-Latina and Afro-descendant domestic workers. We Dream in Black workers from across the country are coming together to celebrate, organize, and strategize at our annual We Dream in Black Organizing Institute. This year’s organizing institute will take place from Thursday, October 10th – Sunday, October 13th in Atlanta, GA and online.
The Institute gives domestic workers the space and tools to develop their leadership and build collective power in the fight for dignity and respect for the invaluable work we do as domestic workers. If you can’t be there in person, don’t worry! There will be a day of online workshops that you can participate in from wherever you are!
We’ll be in touch with the registration page soon! Keep your eyes peeled! 👀
A core benefit of being a member of NDWA is the right to run for election and nominate others to our alliance’s highest leadership roles!
This Fall, 30 experienced domestic worker leaders will be elected to serve on NDWA’s National Worker Councils – the Nanny Council, Home Care Council and Housecleaners Council for the 2025-2027 term. The Councils provide essential guidance and leadership for all areas of NDWA’s work.
If you are a member of an NDWA Affiliate Organization or an NDWA Chapter and are interested in running for election to a Worker Council, talk with your local organizer. Members of Chapters and Affiliates can only be nominated by their local organization, and each organization can nominate one candidate per Council.
If you are an NDWA dues-paying member but are not a part of an Affiliate Organization or Chapter, you can be nominated by a fellow dues-paying member.
Read more about eligibility and the Worker Council elections process here. The deadline for nominations is September 22nd.
If you’re a dues-paying member of NDWA, don’t forget that you also have access to our amazing benefits package, including financial counseling, discounts on vision care and prescriptions, and special offers on many other products and services. Together, we’re able to access so much more than we could alone! Click here to learn about your benefits.
Not a member yet? Click here to join.
As we move forward together, our collective strength will power us through. . We are grateful to all of the organizers, like Ayanna Smith, and to all of you! As we move into a critical election season this Fall, our unity will create positive ripples that extend far beyond our community- no matter what happens!
Please keep an eye on your texts for ways to be in the community, get the latest information on our work, and find out how you can be involved. If you’re not already on our broadcast text list, you can join by texting WORKERS to 33843 to get the latest information on our work and receive event and online meeting invites. And please invite all your domestic worker friends to join the text list.