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)
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