Fall 2022 Newsletter

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Fall 2022 Newsletter The Massachusetts Coalition of Domestic Workers (MCDW) works to bring racial and social justice and dignity to all domestic workers in our state.   Donate Today! A Message from Director Myriam Hernandez Jennings Dear Partners and Allies of MCDW, It is with great enthusiasm that I have returned to MCDW after a year of leaving. I am returning as MCDW’s Interim Executive Director, and I do take on this role with humility and great responsibility. MCDW is stronger and the commitment to engage and partner with those most impacted by the issues we work on is even more palpable than when I left. Myrna Morales, the outgoing Director, did a tremendous job to continue to stabilize the Coalition and ensure that Domestic Workers continue to be the engine that moves the work we do at MCDW, and they certainly move the economy of our country. Therefore, we see MCDW as part of a larger ecology for the rights of workers, women, people of color, and immigrants. Because domestic work stands at the intersection of the experiences of all these communities, fighting for the dignity of domestic workers is ultimately a fight to transform many core systems in our country. MCDW is part of a national movement for the dignity of domestic workers as an affiliate of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. We attend gatherings of domestic workers nationally, bring their political education curriculum to domestic workers in MA, and build relationships on a national scale. Locally, our leadership and membership are actively involved with several other organizations that provide mutual aid and fight for housing justice, immigrant rights, and workers’ rights, and more recently, driving licenses. By being active leaders and building relationships across organizations, we build a dynamic network of direct action, community power, and shared demands for the liberation of our communities. In this issue you will see that the Domestic Workers Leadership Development Program aims to identify and support workers leaders who in turn will work with our coalition to mobilize and organize Domestic Workers in the state of Massachusetts.  We have also highlighted the work of two of our member organizations, and we are making the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, which we passed in 2014, more accessible in the video included in this issue. We have so much work to do dignify Domestic Work in our society and we hope you continue to join us in this fight and support our work. In solidarity, Myriam Hernandez Jennings, Interim Executive Director Our Steering Committee Brazilian Women's Group In partnership with Boston Medical Center, and as a member of Equity Now & Beyond, between October and November 9th, the Brazilian Women's Group organized 5 COVID-19 vaccine clinics, including one against the flu, vaccinating 115 people. During the COVID vaccine clinics, we distributed numerous COVID related preventive items such as adult and children masks, hand sanitizers, soap, home tests, children’s book, granola bars, and $25 and $75 gift certificates. Also, during the November 9th Flu Vaccination Clinic the Brazilian Women's Group celebrated the victory on the Drivers License bill that was approved by the majority of voters! VICTORY! FROM JULY 2023 ANY (AND ALL) MA RESIDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE A DRIVER'S LICENSE! The Women's Institute for Leadership Development In October, WILD participated in the Women Build Boston conference, which brought together over 600 women in the building trades -- carpenters, electricians, plumbers, sheetmetal workers and more. Terry King, WILD's Organizing Director, was a speaker on the leadership panel. Construction work and domestic work may seem very different, but they are similar in some important ways. In both cases, you may be the only person doing that job at your workplace. For that reason, domestic workers and construction workers cannot form unions made up just of people in their workplace, like most other workers. They must find ways to organize that go beyond the individual workplace.  And they both have found ways to do just that. Domestic workers and building trades workers can learn from each others' experience. We hope that we will have a good showing of both groups at our next WILD event, WILD in the Winter, and that it will provide a good opportunity for networking. MCDW Projects Learning to Be Leaders We have begun our new and revamped leadership development class for domestic worker leaders in training. The first of four sessions focused on giving domestic worker leaders some of the historical context, skills, labor rights information, and relationships with each other to become active members in MCDW. In our upcoming sessions, we will be going over some of the history of domestic worker organizing, the history of MCDW and NDWA, the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, and a deeper dive into what leadership means in building collective power. This is the beginning of building out a larger and more powerful MCDW membership! What is the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights? What is the Massachusetts Domestic Workers Bill of Rights? Let's break down the legislation into more manageable pieces. Donate Today! view this email in your browser