On Sunday, December 4, almost 50 participants from MataHari Women Workers’ Center, the JLC, and the broader community joined together for "In Our Care: Creating Community Protection in an Era of Uncertainty." This was the first event unveiling the findings of our two year long Domestic Workers and Employers Oral History project. We shared our personal histories around migration and began the important work of building bridges based on our shared experiences of immigration.We encourage people to continue to support the Oral History project and the advancement of immigrants' rights and domestic workers' rights by making a donation here.We look forward to a full presentation of the project in September 2017. Stay tuned!
Oral historian Jayne Guberman reporting on the Domestic Workers and Employers Oral History project at "In Our Care: Creating Community Protection in an Era of Uncertainty."
MataHari Executive Director Monique Nguyen tells her family's story of migration at "In Our Care: Creating Community Protection in an Era of Uncertainty."
In Our Care: Creating Community Protection in an Era of Uncertainty
First Report on Oral History Project of Domestic Workers and Employers of Domestic Workers
Facebook event here. Please RSVP.
"In Our Care" is a community building series where we will discuss the future of domestic care in our lives and in our society. How does our view of domestic work/labor impact the way we all care for one another in society?
In a post-2016-election environment, domestic workers, many of whom are immigrants, are seeing an increase in anti-immigrant rhetoric, hate crimes, and proposed anti-immigrant policies. The fear and apprehension in our communities are real. On December 4th, in the first of our series on care, we will come together to begin to build relationships across the lines of immigration status to vision together, to resist division, and to create alternative models of safety and protection.
Background: Two years ago, Matahari Women Workers' Center and the New England Jewish Labor Committee embarked on an oral history project to honor the history and lived realities of those who do care work and receive care. We want to build a bridge between domestic workers and domestic employers and engage in shaping a future free from exploitation, where workers are respected, valued, and families have access to dignified care through all stages of life.
Please RSVP to the Facebook event or to NewEnglandJLC@jewishlabor.org. Email or call with questions: NewEnglandJLC@jewishlabor.org or 617 227-0888.
Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights Employers Forum on Sunday Jan 25th, 2015
Do you employ a nanny, au pair, caregiver or housekeeper?
If yes, come learn about the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights and what is required for a just workplace!
Check our Facebook Event Page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/359455954227218/?ref=22
Our Home is Someone’s Workplace: Domestic Workers’ Bill of RightsEmployers ForumSunday, January 25, 2015 at Temple Beth Zion2:00 - 4:30 PM1566 Beacon St, Brookline, MA 02446
Co-Sponsored by MataHari/Massachusetts Coalition of Domestic Workers, the New England Jewish Labor Committee, and Temple Beth Zion.
This program is designed to be informative, interactive, and collaborative. Employers will learn about the new law and what is needed for compliance. The law goes into effect on April 1, 2015. Take advantage of this lead time to learn the details of the law, to share concerns and questions, to gather information about implementation, and to address pertinent issues regarding the employer-employee relationship.
Come and learn together! Get a free sample contract and additional resources!
Featured speakers:Lydia Edwards of Greater Boston Legal Services and the Massachusetts Coalition for Domestic Workers (MCDW)Rabbi Claudia Kreiman of Temple Beth Zion
Who should come?
- Anyone who employs a nanny, au pair, caregiver or housekeeper
Why should I come?
- Update and enhance your efforts as a responsible employer
- Learn the specifics of the new law
- Benefit from suggestions for compliance
- Take advantage of this opportunity to ask questions, share concerns, and identify steps toward implementation
- Become an informed employer AND citizen engaging in this new frontier for civil rights
Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Signed Into Law
Since December of 2012, the NE JLC has been working to pass the Massachusetts Domestic Workers Bill of Rights (DWBR), which would establish basic workplace rights for nannies, housekeepers and caregivers employed in private homes. For example, the NE JLC mobilized people to go the State House to advocate for the DWBR, organized living room talks to raise awareness of conditions for domestic workers among those who employ them, and spoke about the DWBR at several synagogues. Through the advocacy of the NE JLC, the Somerville Board of Alderman voted unanimously to support the DWBR.The DWBR passed in the State House and was signed by the Governor on July 2nd, 2014. NE JLC will continue to work to educate the Jewish community and help implement the bill.
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.
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!
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
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