This year has been a big one for the labor movement (shoutout striking writers!), but not all workers’ rights are given the front-page treatment.

So, we talked to Jenn Stowe (she/her), executive director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance, to learn more about the fight for care workers’ rights. “Care work is the foundation of our economy,” she says, “It’s the invisible yet essential work that ensures our loved ones are cared for with respect and dignity, and powers the rest of society. Care workers look after our sick and elderly relatives so they can continue to live independently, watch over our children so we can participate in the workforce and support our families, and so much more.”

This workforce, which is 91% female and predominantly non-white (1 in 5 are Black women), shows up everyday to care for others. That said, it’s long past the time that we care for them, too.

How did you get involved in advocacy for care workers?
I come from a generation of Black women who care—from my grandmother who cleaned houses for most of her life—to my mother who cared for my father diligently until his transition a few years ago. I have also spent most of my adult life as a single mom, caring for my young daughter while attending college.

Building a powerful movement with and for women of color who care felt like a homecoming for me. I’m proud to follow in the footsteps of historical luminaries who paved the way for this national movement, including Dorothy Bolden who started the National Domestic Workers Union of America and ignited the fight for fair working conditions by organizing domestic workers in Atlanta back in the ‘60s. I feel accountable for carrying on the torch, maintaining the momentum of the movement, and continuing this fight until all domestic workers have the rights and protections they deserve.

What problems are care workers facing right now?
Though care workers are responsible for powering the rest of our economy, they often earn poverty wages, without benefits, time off, or codified protections. This workforce has a long racialized and gendered history that traces all the way back to slavery. When the New Deal was passed in the ‘30s, the profession was excluded due to resistance from Southern states because it was primarily Black and female. As a result, these workers are underpaid, undervalued, and left without federal protections to this day. They are regularly confronted with cases of wage theft, discrimination, harassment, and exploitation.

This is why we at the National Domestic Workers Alliance are working to introduce and re-introduce a National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. Because of our relentless women-led organizing, 10 states, 2 major cities, and Washington D.C. have passed domestic workers bills of rights or protections. Now it’s time for the federal government to follow suit.

What is the National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights? And why is it so vital to the movement?
The Domestic Workers Bill of Rights would codify workplace protections for the care workforce. If Congress were to pass this bill, it would provide a care infrastructure built around families, consumers, and workers—just as roads, bridges, and broadband create a physical infrastructure for our society.

The pandemic lifted the veil on just how important care is to supporting our society and economy, as well as just how undervalued and mistreated care workers are without a proper care infrastructure. This long, exclusionary history that these workers have faced due to racism and sexism has created a breeding ground for exploitations of all kinds. The National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights would set this standard and ensure that all domestic workers are cared for, just as they care for our loved ones day in and day out.

What other investments does the government need to make to bolster the care infrastructure?
In addition to passing the National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, we at the National Domestic Workers Alliance are pushing for our government to increase the federal minimum wage, strip racism from workplace development systems, and increase investment in domestic worker regulations and community care programs. We also support defunding criminal justice systems, and redirecting that funding to pathways to citizenship for immigrants, schools, public services, livable wage jobs, a stronger safety net, and care infrastructure.

How did/does Covid affect domestic workers, if at all?
Covid catalyzed and exacerbated the care crisis we are currently facing. In 2020 and 2021, we commissioned the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) to survey and conduct focus groups with Black immigrant domestic workers to understand how the pandemic was affecting them. The 2020 data showed that care workers were experiencing high job loss, housing insecurity, and health and safety vulnerability due to a lack of healthcare and personal protective equipment (PPE). The 2021 surveys, focus groups, and interviews found that Black immigrant domestic workers who lived at the nexus of racialized, gendered, citizenship-statused, and classed vulnerability pre-pandemic faced even greater vulnerability to exploitation, wage theft, and lack of safety with deadly circumstances.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?
In April, the Biden-Harris Administration signed a historic set of executive actions with 50 directives to improve care affordability and care jobs—the most comprehensive set of actions addressing care in our nation’s history. While this once-in-a-generation investment is a major step towards building a more equitable and sustainable care infrastructure in this country, this work is far from over. To continue this momentum towards ensuring everyone has access to affordable care and workers get the rights and protections they deserve, we must ensure care is a top priority going into the 2024 election.

For this very reason, The National Domestic Workers Alliance held the first-ever Care Workers Can’t Wait Summit on April 18th and 19th to bring together leaders of the care economy, lawmakers, and domestic workers to sound the alarm on the care crisis and align on a path towards a better future.

Jenn said it better than I can, but it’s clear that the wellbeing of care workers should be a top priority for us all.

With care,
Reina Sultan, associate editorial director