About MCDW

Crowd of cheering people with a diversity of races and ages. A child in the front is holding up a big sheet of paper with a five pointed star drawn on it. Each section of the star is labeled.

The Massachusetts Coalition of Domestic Workers (MCDW, pronounced “MAC-DEW”) works to bring racial and social justice and dignity to all domestic workers in our state. The Massachusetts Coalition for Domestic Workers was founded on December 7, 2010, by a Steering Committee comprised of the Brazilian Worker Center (BWC), Matahari: Eye of the Day, the Dominican Development Center (DDC), Massachusetts Professional Nannies Association (MAPN) and Vida Verde (VVC). Today the Steering Committee, the Coalition’s decision-making body, is comprised of five organizations: the Brazilian Worker Center (BWC), the Brazilian Women’s Group (BWG), the Women’s Institute for Leadership Development (WILD), Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH), and the Dominican Development Center (DDC).

Vision

Bringing justice, respect and dignity to all domestic workers in Massachusetts.

Mission

Strengthening organizations’ capacity to organize, advocate, empower and develop the leadership of domestic workers.

Goals

Meeting the immediate needs of domestic workers in Massachusetts, while creating material conditions for needs to be met systemically and structurally.

Serving as a unifying platform to gather data, make policy recommendations, address decision makers ,and engage the public.

Building partnerships with organizations that work with immigrant communities, and enhancing and supporting the existing work of our member and partner organizations.

Growing membership of the coalition and elevating worker leaders within the organization and movement.

Values

  • Solidarity 
    We value mutual respect, leading to building trust to believe in each other. Solidarity requires active listening and communication of boundaries, openness to what others say and believe, and understanding others’ perspective without judgement. Solidarity demands reciprocity in providing help to and accepting help from each other. We value love as a commitment and practice that unifies us. 

  • Accountability 
    We value accountability to ourselves and others. Accountability requires keeping promises and commitments to each other, transparency to maintain honest communication, and humility to grow spiritually. Accountability seeks to earn forgiveness, for without rebuilding trust there will be barriers to everything else. 

  • Inclusiveness
    We value fairness and giving everyone the opportunity to be meaningfully heard. Inclusiveness requires ensuring that information and participation is accessible to all. Inclusiveness entails flexibility and the understanding that everyone has different experiences and capacities that shape their relationships and work. 

  • Patience 
    We value patience. True change cannot happen overnight, and therefore patience encompasses everything else. We prioritize the quality of our work and the depth of our commitments to each other over how quickly we meet specific milestones.

Theory of change

A theory of change is an illustration of why and how desired change is expected to happen in a particular context. Theories of change explain what actions taken in a particular social and material context will culminate in the desired outcome.

Our theory of change merges together two central ideas. First, broad systemic change results from small, incremental actions. It is central to recognize the interconnectedness between small victories and larger change. Second, genuine social change can only happen through the empowerment of those who are most affected. Creating paths to power for the most vulnerable and marginalized enables all to claim their rights and make change happen.

For our coalition, both outcome and process matters. Our intention is to build a grassroots movement of domestic workers who can enact change in their own lives.