Massachusetts Coalition of Domestic Workers

Four Questions About Labor Rights

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On March 23, we celebrated the 17th Annual Labor Seder, at which we celebrated the Passover holiday and the struggles of workers, drawing parallels between the liberation of Jews from slavery in ancient Egypt and current struggles of employees trying to win equitable pay and better working conditions.JewishBoston.com invited us to write four questions about labor rights as part of their collection of questions written by Jewish social justice organizations for the Passover Seder.We encourage you to read through our questions (below), to incorporate them into your Seder this year, and to use them to facilitate conversations with friends and family about workers' rights and the values of our Jewish traditions this Pesach.If you'd like to use our haggadah at your Seder, view and download a copy here.


Four Questions About Labor Rights

Like slaves, many workers have no say in their working conditions.Like slaves, workers give up their dignity to serve the bottom line. Passover is an ideal time to engage in the struggle for workers' rights and economic justice. We can look at what is going on with people who work in all kinds of jobs, including our own. This holiday calls us to become involved in advancing the dignity of workers.

Judaism values work and workers. Go around the table: What kind of work do you do, and do you feel respected at work?

We spend much of our lives working, so it's important that people are respected for their work, no matter their position. Respect for one's work is demonstrated in many ways, such as paying workers decent wages, listening to how they think the work could best be done and allowing time and flexibility for people to pay attention to their families and their own health. At the Jewish Labor Committee, we understand that low-wage workers and middle-class workers are often taken advantage of, and that it's important to stand up for all workers. We work in the Jewish community to gather support for workers.

Many people who have jobs don't get paid enough to pay for basic needs or work in unsafe conditions. What are the ways that unions, government policy and consumer demand can help change workers' conditions?

For the better part of a century, the Jewish Labor Committee has worked to engage the Jewish community in supporting union campaigns, legislation and consumer boycotts that have improved the lives of thousands of people. When businesses and legislators see that the Jewish community takes a stand on worker issues, it makes a significant difference. In the past year, the New England Jewish Labor Committee supported Verizon workers, janitors and Harvard University dining-hall workers to win union contracts that improved their wages, provided job security and improved or continued their health-care benefits. Currently, in the Massachusetts Legislature, we are working to pass an increase of the minimum wage to $15 an hour, as well as pass the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act to help employees when they or their family members are ill, or when a new child comes into the family.

The story of Passover teaches us that slavery is wrong. Where does slavery currently exist in the U.S. and in the world, and what's being done to stop it?

It's hard to imagine that slavery exists today, but it does, even in the United States-on farms, in prisons and in homes. In recent years, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, whose work the Jewish Labor Committee has been involved with for the past five years, exposed and halted slavery on farms in Florida. There are also domestic workers across the U.S. and in Massachusetts who are not allowed to leave the households where they work because their employers have taken their passports and cell phones to prevent them from leaving. The Massachusetts Coalition of Domestic Workers, along with the New England Jewish Labor Committee, is one of the groups fighting against this.Our criminal-justice system does not protect prisoners from working for nothing or almost nothing, producing large profits for corporations in much the same way African-American slaves worked as slaves in the U.S. before the Civil War. We have many social-action groups in Massachusetts synagogues that are working for criminal-justice reform. There are also organizations, such as the National Council of Jewish Women, who are working to stop the practice of girls and young women being taken into the sex industry against their will.

In our society, people who have different work lives than we do may be invisible to us. What might we gain, as individuals and as a society, by getting to know people who earn their living in different ways than we do?

Part of the reason our country is experiencing such a big political divide is that we don't have much real contact with people of different socio-economic classes than our own. As economic inequality has grown, we have less easy opportunities to build relationships with people who have different kinds of jobs. Reaching out to people and hearing each other's stories will help bridge that divide. This helps everyone feel more connected, hopeful and less alone.


Chag pesach same'ach! Happy Passover!

Governor Patrick praises outgoing Labor Secretary Joanne Goldstein at 14th Annual Labor Seder

Governor Deval Patrick kicked off the Fourteenth Annual Labor Seder last Tuesday at Temple Israel in Boston by saying that former Secretary of Labor Joanne Goldstein “was the best Secretary of Labor the Commonwealth has ever had.” The New England Jewish Labor Committee (NE JLC)  honored Goldstein with the Clara Lemlich Shavelson Award for  lifetime commitment to workers in Massachusetts.

“How fitting that we are gathered here for a Seder, the quintessential Jewish expression of freedom, which includes for me economic and social justice and the human right to life, free of poverty and complete with dignity,” Goldstein observed.

The Labor Seder draws parallels between the liberation of Jews from slavery and current issues facing workers. This year, the NE JLC recognized the Massachusetts Coalition of Domestic Workers and their effort to get the proposed Domestic Workers Bill of Rights passed. The NE JLC also recognized workers of the Harvard-owned DoubleTree Hotel in Allston who are asking the hotel for a neutrality agreement on deciding on union representation. Additionally, the Pathways Pre-apprenticeship program was recognized for helping people in underserved communities get good jobs in the trades.

The NE JLC Board at the Labor Seder

Rabbi Barbara Penzner of Temple Hillel B’nai Torah in West Roxbury and incoming Co-Chair of the NE JLC led the Labor Seder. “The Labor Seder celebrates its 14th anniversary this year. In Hebrew letters, 14 spells the word ‘yad’ which means hand. That's what this event is all about--giving a helping hand to lift people up with better jobs, and to join hands together as allies to bring liberation to our world, just as our ancestors were liberated from Egypt.”

Yehuda Yaakov, the new Consul General of Israel, attended the Labor Seder even though workers at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including all consuls around the world, is on strike. The NE JLC asked him to come despite the strike so that the participants could express solidarity with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs workers.

Every year, Jewish community leaders, labor leaders, elected officials, and community activists gather at the Labor Seder to celebrate the holiday of Passover. The story of Passover tells how Jewish slaves in Egypt broke the chains of oppression and fought together for liberation and freedom. The Labor Seder is a unique interfaith event where we build bridges that enable us all to pursue justice with greater strength and commitment. We hope you will join us next year! 

Solidarity forever!...for the union makes us strong!

Globe Article Details Plight of Domestic Workers at State House Hearing: NE JLC Turns Out to Support the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights

 By Beth Healy

GLOBE STAFF
NOVEMBER 13, 2013

DAVID L. RYAN/GLOBE STAFF Erin Manning rubbed the back of domestic worker Sonia Soares during her testimony at the State House Tuesday.

Sonia Soares was cleaning 45 houses a week. Sometimes customers insisted that she scrub floors on her hands and knees. One client actually kicked her out of the way one day, while she was scrubbing.“I knew at that point that only I could fight for my dignity,” Soares told lawmakers Tuesday at a State House hearing on a proposed Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights.The bill, cosponsored by Representative Michael J. Moran, a Democrat from Brighton, and Senator Anthony W. Petruccelli, an East Boston Democrat, would provide basic protections for 67,000 nannies, caregivers, and housekeepers in the state. It would require, among other things, that people sign contracts with those caring for their children or their homes, agreeing on precise duties, pay, time off, sick time, and other matters.The bill also would expand legal protections for home workers by allowing them to file complaints with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination if they are harassed or abused.Dozens of domestic workers, their advocates, and labor leaders, packed the hearing room Tuesday.

A number of them testified about poor treatment at the hands of some employers. Many described long hours and hard work done somewhat in the shadows, because they are working in private homes without the standards and protocols of a larger workplace.Often these workers, mostly women, are fearful of losing their jobs should they complain about their conditions, advocates said. Those who live with the families they work for can end up homeless if they are fired. 

DAVID L. RYAN/GLOBE STAFF 

Some members of the Massachusetts Coalition for Domestic Workers held a rally in the State House in support of a Domestic Workers Bill of RightsPaola Garcia, a Columbia native who lives in Boston, said she was denied sick time by a family with whom she lived for five years, caring for their three children - and her own daughter.She said she worked 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., six days a week, with only eight hours off on Saturday.She said she once went to the dentist for a root canal on her only day off, returning home from the appointment with a swollen face and in pain. Her employer, who was not named at the hearing, had a party to go to and asked her to take the kids out for pizza, she said."Working that many hours for so many years without a full day of rest in the week, or the right to go see a doctor when you need it, is wrong,'' Garcia said.Garcia wanted to leave, but there was a lot on the line: The employer had been "saving" $200 of her $600 paycheck each week for 2½ years, to give to her later in a lump sum. When she finally quit, the family did not pay her the money, which by then added up to thousands of dollars, she said.Steven Tolman, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO labor group, urged legislators to move the bill forward, asking, "Who would oppose standards, basic standards of dignity and humanity?''He said they should make sure "that indentured service doesn't exist here in Massachusetts, that slavery doesn't exist here in Massachusetts.''Two professional women also testified about the need for protections for domestic workers, saying those workers were vital to their ability to pursue careers. Eleanor Shore, a physician and former dean of faculty affairs at Harvard Medical School, said her family had employed the same woman for 49 years."My professional career would not have been possible without the excellent dedicated child care and household assistance she provided,'' Shore said.Lydia Edwards, director of legal services at the Brazilian Immigrant Center in Boston, frequently represents domestic workers in disputes with their employers.She said many of the problems involved "job creep,'' an increase in work hours and tasks without extra pay. In the most extreme cases, she said, workers are subjected to sexual harassment or fired unfairly.Gaps in the current law leave "domestic workers who work in isolation and behind closed doors vulnerable to exploitation and abuse,'' Edwards said in her testimony.California, Hawaii, and New York have passed similar bills of rights, according to advocates for the workers.The measure, if approved by the Legislature's Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, would likely go before other committees before being considered by the full House or Senate.Beth Healy can be reached at Beth.Healy@globe.com.http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/11/13/domestic-workers-testify-state-house-hearing-for-bill-rights/OQcfI3dlKrEmvcf9k8EdDJ/story.html 

Tuesday, November 12, Hearing on Domestic Workers Bill of Rights

Employers of Domestic Workers Supporting the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

10:00 AM

(Press Conference at 9:30 am)

MA Statehouse, Room B-1

Public Hearing before the Joint Labor and Workforce Development

Committee on the MA Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights!

Domestic workers are the backbone of our economy. Nannies, caregivers and house-cleaners keep our communities running by supporting our families and our homes, but have been undervalued and left to work without many key legal protections. As a result, many are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation on the job.The Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights amends Massachusetts state labor law to guarantee basic work standards and protections: 24 hours off per 7-day calendar week; meal and rest breaks; limited vacation and sick days;   parental leave; notice of termination; protection from discrimination, sexual harassment, illegal charges for food and lodging and eviction without notice; and a means of enforcing these standards. Domestic employers under the bill do not include state regulated staffing agencies or the employers of those who work as casual babysitters.If you can come to the hearing or want to get involved in the campaign to pass the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, please contact Marya Axner, 617-227-0888 or NewEnglandJLC@jewishlabor.org