NDWA NEWSLETTER | JUNE 2025 |
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In the first half of 2025, domestic workers and care advocates like you have met crisis after crisis with courage and collective action. From devastating wildfires to brutal immigration enforcement to threats to our healthcare, our movement hasn’t backed down. We have turned grief and anger into action with impact. Here’s just a glimpse into we’ve been up to:
In January, as wildfires ripped through parts of California, domestic workers lost homes, wages, and stability overnight. NDWA mobilized immediately, and supporters like you responded to our online fundraising campaign and contributed over $90,000 in emergency support to organizations on the ground. But we didn’t stop at relief. We demanded health and safety policies that protect care workers, those most at risk and least resourced, from climate disaster.
In March, NDWA member Jeanette Vizguerra was detained by ICE, ripped from her community without warning. A housecleaner, mother, grandmother, and lifelong organizer in Colorado, Jeanette has fought for decades to keep immigrant families together. This time, it was our turn to fight for her. Nearly 20,000 NDWA supporters took action, flooding officials with messages and calls. Thanks to your action, Jeanette remains in the U.S. and is currently waiting for the judge to rule on bond. And, we are continuing to fight for her return home.
In April, more than 1,500 domestic workers from across the country came together for NDWA’s We Power Care 2025 National Assembly. Over three days, workers celebrated hard-won victories, built shared strategies, and made space to imagine what care justice can look like, on their terms. It was the largest national gathering of domestic workers since before the pandemic, it was a powerful reminder of what’s possible when we lead together.
This spring, as anti-care lawmakers pushed forward a budget proposal that would cut up to $800 billion from Medicaid over the next decade, NDWA brought the voices of care workers directly to the Capitol. At our May Lobby Days, nearly 60 members and staff held over a dozen meetings with lawmakers — and that was just the beginning. Together, we sent over 5,000 messages and made more than 600 calls demanding Congress protect Medicaid, care jobs, and our communities. We told them what these cuts would really mean: lost coverage, higher costs, shuttered rural hospitals, and more. At a 24-hour Medicaid vigil joined by Rep. Katherine Clark, we shared story after story of how Medicaid is a lifeline, and how cutting it would be a death sentence for many.
On June 14, NDWA members and allies helped mobilize thousands for the No Kings protests, one of the largest demonstrations for democracy and care in U.S. history. In Phoenix, Los Angeles, and beyond, we showed what solidarity looks like in practice. On June 16, International Domestic Workers Day, we marked the day by reintroducing the National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, a critical step toward securing long-overdue protections for the workers who make all other work possible. In a moment when care workers are still excluded from fundamental labor laws, the National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights offers a path toward recognition, respect, and real accountability.
These first six months of 2025 came at us with dizzying speed. But, fighting back in the middle of this chaos has shown us exactly where our power comes from: our people. |
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We’re kicking off a new wave of actions to protect Medicaid and push back against the devastating cuts that would strip healthcare from millions of low-income people, hit care workers and their families hardest, and deepen the crisis in an already broken care system. We’ll be organizing online and in-person to make sure lawmakers hear us and feel the pressure to act.
Sign up to get updates on upcoming Protect Medicaid actions, including digital days of action, storytelling campaigns, and ways to take action in your community.
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Arizona At a Medicaid-focused vigil, 75 people gathered to demand answers and action from Rep. Ciscomani. At Phoenix’s No Kings March and Juneteenth event, organizers collected personal Medicaid stories, recruited new supporters, and identified even more domestic workers ready to join the movement. |
Virginia Our Richmond team celebrated International National Domestic Workers Day by honoring the history and leadership of care workers. The event centered joy, power, and political education, making the connection between local struggles and national fights around Medicaid and immigrant justice. |
North Carolina Charlotte and Raleigh were home to powerful “Day Without Child Care” actions, drawing over 500 RSVPs and opening the door to deeper organizing in the South. Workers rallied, shared their stories, and met with lawmakers to demand public investment in a care system that respects providers as much as parents. |
Washington, D.C.
NDWA is organizing to protect a hard-won enforcement program that brings the city’s Domestic Workers Bill of Rights to life. Since 2022, it’s reached over 1,000 workers, recovered stolen wages, and trained more than 30 leaders. But, the proposed budget leaves it unfunded. Without $140,000 in recurring support, this critical work could disappear. We’re urging the DC Council to fully fund this critical program because rights mean nothing without enforcement.
Maryland
We secured passage of legislation that establishes what’s called an “Interested Parties Advisory Group (IPAG)”. An IPAG is a group of stakeholders that advises on HCBS reimbursement and wage rates. After negotiations, we secured seats for worker organizations, individual workers, and consumers. This is a huge achievement; there is no other mechanism like it that ensures workers have a formal role in shaping rate-setting decisions.
Philadelphia
On May 8, the Philadelphia City Council unanimously passed the POWER (Protect Our Workers – Enforce Rights) Act, one of the most comprehensive labor enforcement and anti-retaliation laws in the country. NDWA-PA led this effort over three years, as a way to strengthen the Bill of Rights we won in 2020 and ensure workers could claim those rights without retaliation. It was a unanimous vote and importantly, it expands protections beyond domestic workers to cover 750,000 workers in the city. It will also enhance the Office of Worker Protections' capacity to hold employers accountable and protect workers from retaliation when asserting their rights.
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THIS MONTH IN DOMESTIC WORKER HISTORY | |
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Honoring Mabel Hampton: A Legacy of Resistance and Care As Pride Month comes to a close, we uplift the story of Mabel Hampton, a Black lesbian domestic worker whose life spanned the Harlem Renaissance to the frontlines of LGBTQ+ liberation.
In the 1920s, Mabel performed in Harlem’s music and dance scene, embracing her identity. After unjust imprisonment in a prostitution sting, she spent decades as a domestic and hospital worker, quietly supporting her community while building a life with her partner.
In her later years, Mabel became a founding member of the Lesbian Herstory Archives, preserving the voices of women so often left out of history. At 82, she addressed thousands at NYC Pride: “I am proud of myself and my people… my gay people and my Black people.”
Mabel’s story is a powerful reminder that domestic workers have always been at the heart of resistance, caring, surviving, and organizing across every generation. Explore more stories like hers on our interactive timeline of domestic worker history. |
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