Domestic workers on the move!

Congratulations to Domestic Workers in California, where the California Domestic Workers Bill of Rights just passed the California State Assembly. This is only the second bill of rights to pass in the U.S., following New York last year. Domestic workers have long been excluded from American labor laws, resulting in the denial of basic overtime and health and safety protections, as well as the right to organize and bargain collectively. The Bill of Rights is an important first step in granting rights that domestic workers – largely women of color – have long been denied.

Coalition building and scarce resources

You have to work together to get anything done. I’ve always known that to be true on some level, but I’ve never been so acutely aware of that imperative as I am now, working with organizations made up of some of our most marginalized communities. For grassroots organizations whose members earn very low wages, don’t necessarily speak English, or are otherwise far outside of the political establishment, working together and maintaining productive relationships with one another is an absolute necessity in order to have real impact. But this cooperation, as we all know, is extremely complicated in practice.

New York is home to a very rich network of progressive, relentless, and principled member-based organizations. They support each other in incredible ways, but differences in priorities, culture, and tactics are inevitable. The struggle to stay on the same page is hard enough when solely in terms of vision, strategy, and tactics, but it’s also important to note how competition for funding plays a role in building – or disrupting – broad coalitions. When push comes to shove, organizations are competing with one another for a limited pool of foundation money, necessarily elevating foundations’ vision and reporting requirements to the top of any group’s list of organizational priorities. Once grants are made, there will always be lingering questions and speculation about how that money was spent and where it could have had more impact.

Despite these ongoing challenges, the people that I’ve met in the NY social justice community so far have been among the most open minded, sharing, and empathetic people I’ve met. They know that working together is the only way to build power, and they know how hard it is to make that happen. More than anything, I’m looking forward to better understanding how these organizations continually navigate this challenging terrain.