John — today is Indigenous People’s Day, a chance to recognize the Indigenous communities that have lived in the Americas for thousands of years.

Indigenous women are at the heart of our movement and, in California, they have been leading much of our work where we sadly have tough news to share:

A few days ago, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed state legislation that would have ended the exclusion of domestic workers from health and safety protections, and implemented health and safety practices for domestic workers in California.

It’s a profoundly disappointing decision that will leave domestic workers vulnerable and without workplace protections. And it shows that while state-based changes can set precedents that lift standards, when they fall short, domestic workers are left behind.

A Federal Domestic Workers Bill of Rights is the only way to ensure ALL domestic workers, no matter where they live or their state government, are no longer excluded from protections against sexual harassment, wage abuse and more.

So, this Indigenous People’s Day, will you help us turn the disappointment of Governor Newsom’s decision into pressure on Congress to pass a Federal Domestic Workers Bill of Rights?

TAKE ACTION →

Domestic work in our country has always included Indigenous domestic workers. However, the sanitized history taught in far too many schools erases the reality that many Indigenous people were forced to be domestic workers.

It’s tragic that most people aren’t taught that throughout New England, the servant class was predominantly enslaved Indigenous people before the late 1700s. Or that in the 1790s, for example, 66% of Spanish-Mexican households in Santa Fe relied on the labor of Indigenous servants. (Learn more here)

But it’s not a surprise. From history curricula to housing rights to workplace protections, Indigenous, Black, or Latina domestic workers have been intentionally excluded by racist lawmakers – a white supremacist status quo that continues to this day.

The California bill that Governor Newsom vetoed and the Federal Domestic Workers Bill of Rights are ways we can begin to right these historical wrongs. We lost one battle, but we’re determined to use that loss as fuel to help us build a future where domestic workers can thrive.

Help us build that future by calling on Congress to pass a Federal Domestic Workers Bill of Rights this Indigenous People’s Day.

TAKE ACTION →

Thanks for all that you do,

Care Team
National Domestic Workers Alliance