November 2022

Thank a domestic worker

Our domestic worker leaders were out in full force this fall, knocking on doors in several states to remind eligible voters about the election and how important it is to make their voices heard by voting. 

The election isn’t quite over yet, and some races are still too close to call. But it’s not too early to thank these powerful women for leading by example.

Sign our card thanking them for their leadership and commitment to safeguarding our democracy and building the caring society we all want and deserve.

National Domestic Workers Alliance does not endorse, support or oppose candidates for public office.

On the ground in Georgia

Our Georgia team is busy running another massive organizing and outreach effort to keep Georgia voters engaged ahead of the December 6 runoff.

It takes a lot of people power and resources to mobilize voters, and our team is understandably exhausted. But this election is just too important for us to sit on the sidelines. So we’re rising to meet the moment and doing everything we can to connect with Black women and other women of color voters in Georgia.

Help support this critical work and rush a donation today to help us keep the momentum going. 

This month in domestic worker history

There is a long history in our movement of domestic workers fighting for the right to vote, and making civic engagement a key part of their organizing.

Dr. Melnea Cass was one of these leaders. 

Dr. Cass was a civil rights leader who led the movement for domestic workers in Boston until she died in 1978. She was inspired by her mother-in-law, Rosa Brown, who worked as a housekeeper and was very active in the community. Cass remembers, “she persuaded me to go out and vote, soon after women got the vote.” 

Both women saw voter registration as fundamental to their racial and economic justice work in the city. By the 1960s, their organization, the Women’s Service Club, delivered thousands of votes during elections. As a result, Cass influenced local community leaders to assert her voice at all levels of government.

You can learn more about Melnea Cass and her organization in Boston, the Women’s Service Club - that won the first labor protections for domestic workers in Massachusetts back in 1970 - on our interactive History of Domestic Worker Organizing timeline. 

North Carolina: Childcare is Essential

In 2021, North Carolina created a stabilization program for child care centers across the state with American Rescue Plan Act dollars. This program allowed child care providers to raise the wages of workers to a livable wage, pay bonuses for teachers who worked throughout the pandemic, and invest back in children through resources at child care centers.

In 2023, those funds will expire, and many experts in the field are predicting a mass exodus of workers from the field without new investment. If this happens, North Carolina will experience a care crisis.

Our North Carolina We Dream in Black team is working to fight for unprecedented investment into child care in North Carolina that will support and retain an effective workforce and provide quality care to all who need it.

Bringing domestic workers into the spotlight

The NDWA Culture Change team works with the entertainment industry to tell captivating stories that bring domestic workers out of the shadows and into the spotlight.

We recently partnered with the Writers Guild Foundation for a virtual panel on writing stories about domestic workers, a diverse community that represents over 2 million women across the country. 

Featuring Melissa Carter and Miranda Kowk (Co-Showrunners, The Cleaning Lady) and Molly Smith Metzler (Creator, Executive Producer, Maid), and our  Executive Director Jenn Stowe, the panel focused on how writers can tell an authentic story without falling into stereotypes, why this moment calls for these types of stories, and what writers can do to change the narrative.

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