Domestic Workers

Last updated on: April 19, 2016 at 12:10 pm by William Droel

Domestic Workers 2016-04-19T12:10:08-06:00 William Droel

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Domestic workers—nannies and eldercare assistants–are a major part of the growing personal service job sector. There are more than 200,000 domestic workers in New York State alone. What is it like?

Rachel Aviv profiles one domestic worker in The New Yorker (4/11/16). Emma is from Bukidnon Province in the Philippines. Even with some college education and a government job, Emma and husband Edmund could not support their nine children. So she comes to New York City; specifically to Woodside, Queens where more than 13,000 Filipinos live within walking distance to the 61st St. & Roosevelt Ave. number 7 subway stop.
The United States exports products: fuel, cinema, semiconductors and more. The Philippines deliberately exports its women. The government there promotes “labor exportation as a strategy for relieving poverty and alleviating the national debt,” Aviv writes. The immigrant women send a substantial part of their earnings home to family members who, in turn, boost consumption in Philippines. A few years ago the Filipino president asked the immigrants to stay abroad. “We are depending on [you],” the president said. “Send money to your relatives here… You should stay there.”

Emma’s first job in the United States was in Hillary Clinton’s Westchester County neighborhood. Other jobs followed. After meeting basic expenses, Emma “sent all her earnings home, except for $20, her weekly allowance.” Her daughters received most of the money, Aviv details. “But she also fulfilled requests from her sisters, colleagues and friends.”
A strain of emotional insecurity weaves in and around Emma’s family. The daughters back home underappreciate their mother’s sacrifice—or so Emma feels. They want money and the latest fashions from the United States. Emma spent $65 per month to ship clothes to the Philippines. Emma, for her part, has doubts about her husband. On occasion she suspects waywardness from the daughters, yet they complete their education. The back-and-forth tugs are strong. However, by the time Emma is introduced to New Yorker readers, she has been in the United States 16 years without a visit home.

Thankfully nothing horrendous happens to Emma on the job, or at least Aviv does not report any instances. Wage theft, harassment, or other workplace evils are nonetheless common for domestic workers. Labor statutes on wages, sick days, overtime and more sometimes do not apply to domestic workers. Federal laws do not cover companions; that is babysitters and those caregivers for the elderly who do not perform medical tasks or run errands, though companions who sleep overnight are covered on wages, but not on other matters. Fifteen states have domestic worker laws that at least in some provisions exceed Federal standards.
Domestic workers, let’s face it, are vulnerable because they are isolated. If a dispute arises, their testimony will likely carry less weight than the employer’s.

Some organizations strive to improve the situation for domestic workers. For example, the Diocese of Brooklyn (www.dioceseofbrooklyn.org) has a Catholic Migrant Office in the neighborhood where Emma and many other domestic workers reside. It provides some services and engages in advocacy.
Since 2000 the National Domestic Workers Alliance (www.domesticworkers.org), headquartered in New York and with 43 affiliates in 26 cities, has successfully defended some mistreated workers and has lobbied for legal protections. Its thorough report on domestic workers is titled Home Economics. NDWA’s founder Ai Jen Poo is not only concerned about domestic workers but also about care for our elderly. Her book, The Age of Dignity (The New Press, 2015), is a resource for grown children who now care for their parents.
Damayan (www.damayanmigrants.org), to mention a third group, is a New York-based advocacy center for domestic workers. It claims 8,000 dues-paying members in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, mostly Filipino.

Droel edits a free, printed newsletter about faith and work, INITIATIVES (PO Box 291102, Chicago, IL 60629)

Uncategorized

Previous Post

April 10, 2016

Rules in Church

Next Post

April 26, 2016 Parishes, Part III

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 May 2022 April 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 June 2021 May 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

David Solomon Moses Job