National Domestic Workers Alliance

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John —
Black women have been essential workers in our society since the inception of this country. We have also served as essential leaders across all social justice movements, including the labor movement.

This, even as our labor is undervalued and as our contributions have been ignored by the history books. In honor of Black History Month, I want to spend some time explaining how we got here.

White male factory workers often receive credit for growing the labor movement in this country. But it was Black female organizers who, more than a century ago, recognized that improving the lives of all working people required the dismantling of racial, class, and gender inequities [[link removed]] .

Even then, in the face of unimaginable gender and racial discrimination and violence, Black women had the vision and courage to fight for a different way. Because we sit at the intersection of race, gender and class, Black women have always had a unique perspective from which to organize and transform society .

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When most people talk about the history of Black women’s labor, they often begin with the legal end of chattel slavery. But, during slavery and the Civil War, our forced, unpaid labor fueled the American economy.

We cooked, cleaned and nursed children who, technically, “owned” us. After Emancipation, many Black women had little choice but to reenter the homes of white families to work as domestics [[link removed]] because we were barred from other types of employment.

These women experienced labor exploitation, racism, abuse and sexual assault in their workplaces with no legal protections. That’s because domestic workers, the majority of whom were Black, were deliberately excluded by Congress from workplace laws and protections passed in the 1930s [[link removed]] .

Still, they persisted and were able to create different sectors within household work to gain some bargaining power [[link removed]] . They divided the work into three different jobs — the cook, the washerwoman, and the housekeeper who was often both house cleaner and nanny — with different pay rates and expectations: They did this by standing up to predatory employers and also through collective action and organizing.

These women paved the way for the work we do today — within the labor movement, but also within the gender justice and civil rights movements as well.

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I always like to say we do the invisible work that makes all other work possible. Giving you that comfort so you can go to work. The parents are comfortable because they know they have an adult taking care of their child, so they can then go and be successful in their day.
— Dionne, WeDiB member, GeorgiaThough there have been some policy changes and inclusions over the years, domestic workers still lack full access to worker protections.

Our labor is valuable. It fuels this society. Andt we’re not giving up until our labor is respected.

Black women have ALWAYS had a vision for a better future. One in which every family and worker is cared for in every way. Where our children and communities can prosper into the future. Where our jobs are respected and we are paid liveable wages. Where we have paid sick leave and protections, and can afford our rent and bills.

This is the vision NDWA is fighting for, a vision that is rooted in Black women’s liberation. [[link removed]]

Thanks for all that you do,

Isabella Louis, We Dream in Black Coordinator
National Domestic Workers Alliance

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Thank you for being a dedicated supporter of the National Domestic Workers Alliance!

We're working day and night to win respect, recognition, and labor rights and protections for the more than 2.5 million nannies, house cleaners, and homecare workers.

Donate → [[link removed]]

The majority of domestic workers sit at the center of some of our nation’s most decisive issues because of who they are and what they do: they are women – mostly women of color, immigrants, mothers, and low-wage workers. They are impacted by almost every policy affecting the future of our economy, democracy and country.

Domestic workers can lead us toward a new, inclusive vision for the future for all of us -- and your grassroots support is the fuel that can get us there.

Donate → [[link removed]]

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