TAP talked with Priscilla Gonzalez, director of Domestic Workers United, a group that has been working to get the bill passed.
How long has your organization been working to have this passed?
It's been in the state Senate for two years, but the struggles overall in the New York state Legislature have been going on for six years. Six years of struggling to get to the point where we are now, literally, a couple of steps away from a law recognizing domestic workers as regular workers. It would give them the rights and protections most other workers enjoy.
What's the difference between the Senate and Assembly bills?
The Assembly bill includes domestic workers under existing labor laws. The Senate bill goes a step further in guaranteeing domestic workers basic rights: sick days, layoff notice, et cetera.
Are you pulling the Senate version to pass?
We understand the bills have to be reconciled, and what we want to come out of this process is a strong bill that would guarantee rights and protections and rights now that are not only impossible but also illegal for them to collectively bargain for since they were excluded from the National Labor Relations Act.
It actually legislates the core benefits that other workers already enjoy because they have a union or have a contract. In our sector it's just not possible. When a worker tries to ask for a sick day or a vacation she is putting her job on the line, literally.
When did it pass the Senate?
On Tuesday evening.
Were you there for it?
We were. One hundred domestic workers and supporters traveled up to Albany to do last-minute outreach and to witness the vote. We were there while the senators discussed domestic workers' rights for two hours in chambers.
What was the mood?
It's a victory we've been trying to accomplish for a very long time. We were ready last year when the Senate came to a standstill [on the bill]. We have really continued to work for the past year to find ourselves in the same position and different outcome. We were very happy and very emotional after two hours of testimony after testimony after testimony from senators clearly moved by the organizing domestic workers have done, by their stories, by their resistance.
Senators talked about their mothers and their grandmothers being domestic workers, turning to the domestic workers in the gallery and saying directly, "Thank you for allowing us to be part of history." It was a very powerful moment for the senators to really recognize domestic workers.
So yeah, it was incredibly moving and a very transforming experience I think for all of us who were there.
What's the most moving story you heard while lobbying for this bill?
Every worker has a story that's moving. Every worker has suffered. It's hard, there are certainly cases that have been severe, cases that have involved sexual assault and physical assault. There's been cases of workers getting paid significantly less than the minimum wage, like, $2 an hour. We had one case of this woman in her 60s who was made to sleep in the basement where the sewage constantly overflowed.
Then there's the everyday indignities that these workers have to face because they work behind closed doors, because no one's protecting them, because they don't have the power to fight for better working conditions on their own. That's why organizations like DWU and other domestic-worker organizations [can] really make a difference in the industry.
It's pretty certain Paterson will sign it?
Last year on The Brian Lehrer Show, he made a commitment to signing it when it passed his desk. Yesterday he issued a statement saying he's made no commitment.
What's the objection to it?
Nothing significantly changed in a year, so we don't know what his objections are, if any. What we want is for the Assembly and the Senate and the governor to come together to determine a bill he will then sign into law.
This is the first one like it in the country, right?
Yes, New York state, when it passes the bill of rights, it will be the first law in the country to recognize domestic workers as real workers. California and Colorado are the next states that are going to be introducing similar initiatives. They'll enter with much stronger footing with the precedent set by New York.
What's next for your organization?
We will launch a mass education campaign and work closely with the domestic workers in New York to ensure that all workers know their new rights under the law and employers understand all their obligations.
