Domestic Workers, Immigrants in the United States, These Are Their Voices

Smiling, kind, willing to devote extra time to activism after completing their workdays, eight domestic workers from different nationalities: Mexican, Guatemalan, Venezuelan, Colombian, Ecuadorian, along with representatives from various local organizations advocating for their rights - Wind of the Spirit, FreeHold, Latin Community in Action - united in the Coalition of Domestic Workers in New Jersey, the eleventh state to achieve the declaration of the Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights in the United States, spoke with Heraldo USA to share their experiences and raise awareness about the importance of continuing to fight for their rights, which are pending recognition in the other 39 states of the nation. These are their voices.

Ligia

I am from Venezuela and have been in the United States for 4 years. When I arrived, I was given a job to care for a child with special needs. I worked as a live-in caregiver, but one day, out of the blue, they notified me that they were going on vacation and that I had to leave the house because I couldn't stay there.

I had nowhere to go because when I arrived, I was looking for live-in work to have a place to live. I thought - I take care of their child, why are they doing this to me? If this is happening to me, how many others will it happen to? My experience is nothing compared to others who have had it very hard, almost like slavery, having their documents taken away, not being allowed to leave. I have live-in colleagues whose hours are not respected, they are restricted on food, their documents are taken away to force them to stay for very long hours, they are people who are deprived of many things.

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I saw it as a distant possibility that we could have a law that truly protected us, and it's beautiful that we now have this law (in New Jersey) that gives us a certain stability, a certain security to workers. It will allow us to have a foundation, to demand because we cannot be treated as insignificant, we are important, and we deserve respect. I believe this law will benefit many people.

Rubi

I have been here for 25 years. Once, I was highly recommended for a job, but the first thing the employer asked was if I had documents. I told them no, but I had my ID with which I pay my taxes, but they didn't want to give me the job because they thought it would get them in trouble. It feels very uncomfortable when they ask you right from the start if you have papers to work. Like every human being, we have dignity, and we have rights just like executives . Courtesy of the National Domestic Workers Alliancedo. If we know our rights, we don't have to fear; besides, we are essential workers - without our work, our employers wouldn't be able to go to work.

Leticia

I am originally from the state of Oaxaca, and I arrived here in 2009. Since then, I have been working in cleaning. For four months, I endured cleaning floors on my knees. They didn't give me food, and I couldn't bring my own food. I endured it because when you arrive here in need, you don't know that you have rights, but little by little, I discovered that regardless of immigration status, we have rights. Before, almost no one talked about domestic workers; we were invisible. All those situations that I went through were what motivated me to join this fight for the bill of rights.

Norma

We have to keep fighting because the work we do as domestic workers has a value that neither the state nor the people recognize. We are tired of constantly being trampled on, of not being given the right to have a glass of water, a hot meal... it's inhumane. I have been working in a house for 20 years, and as long as you are healthy, everything is fine. But I had an accident there, cleaning, and they don't call to ask how you are, they don't say they'll give you something for your rent to help with the medicine, they only call to ask when you're coming back to work; that's not fair and it motivates us to keep fighting.

Dolly

47 years ago, my mother came as a domestic worker and was exploited, working every day from 6 in the morning to 12 at night, taking care of 8 children for $80 a month. Her employers brought her with papers, but they hid them from her. Fortunately, she was able to escape. If there had been organizations of workers like this one, she wouldn't have suffered so much abuse.

My voice is just my voice, but all voices together will change the laws. Don't give up.

Ángela

I was a domestic worker, especially a house cleaner. When I worked, they made me stay longer and didn't pay me, and like me, most suffer from wage theft. Seeing that the Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights will guarantee payment for overtime hours, the minimum wage, among other things, will provide relief to workers who were a sector completely excluded from rights. Now knowing that we are going to have these rights (in New Jersey) gives much more peace of mind.

It's hard to lose fear, but we cannot continue to allow ourselves to be exploited, abused in these times; we deserve to live with respect and dignity. We leave our country seeking opportunities; we must raise our voice and say: enough, no more abuses.

Stefy

I've been coming to the United States for 3 years with an exchange program as a nanny, but I experienced labor abuse, physical and verbal, from an American person towards me, and what I like about the approval of the Bill of Rights is that it motivates each one of us to have more hope, and we can continue fighting so that they can respect our rights.

Rosa

I am a Guatemalan indigenous woman, and I started the fight in my country and then here. I feel the satisfaction of being part of the fight to win; I felt proud, I had no words, but we cried to know that I do have rights here.

Martha

I've been in the United States for 2 and a half years, and the message I want to convey is that no human being is illegal, we are not illegal; we are people in an undocumented condition, which is very different. We are not criminals or illegal.

Teresa Vivar, founder of Lazos, América Unida, emphasizes that the testimonies of these women do not tell the horror that their colleagues experience as workers because we are talking about conditions of slavery, fear, harassment; they tell their stories because they become resilient and start transforming that pain into something positive, seizing the opportunity to transform their fears into something positive by raising their voices, organizing, and sharing their stories to tell other working women that they are not alone, that there is an organization near them fighting for their rights, and they invite them to participate in their movement for recognition, respect, and rights.

You can contact the National Domestic Workers Alliance via email at https://domesticworkers.org/

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