We are extremely excited to announce that on Thursday, June 25, the California State Senate voted in favor of SB 1257, the Health and Safety for All Workers Act, with 27 yes votes and 11 no votes.
About 85 domestic worker and employer leaders gathered on Zoom to watch the Senate Floor vote together.
Vicenta Martinez, a housecleaner and worker leader at IDEPSCA in Los Angeles shared her reaction to winning the vote. “I am so excited right now I feel like my heart is going to jump out of my body,” said Martinez. “This victory means so much because as domestic workers we often feel that our hard work is not really seen or appreciated by our employers or by society. I worked cleaning homes through the fires here in LA, and my employers never even gave me a mask even though they knew that my health was at risk cleaning in such smokey conditions, while also using strong chemical cleaning products. So in the past few weeks when we were calling our Senators to ask for their support, I had all of my friends and family make calls too. It motivates me to know that we are one step closer to having the legal right to safe working conditions.”
Lolita Lledo, Associate Director of the Pilipino Workers Center in Los Angeles, was also on the zoom watch party. “Many of our homecare worker members have gotten sick with Coronavirus because they were exposed at work and didn’t have proper health and safety training and equipment,” she said. “Some of our members have been hospitalized and have had to fight for their lives. Others have died. This victory today is for those homecare workers. Now we have to take SB 1257 through the legislative process in the State Assembly and get it signed by the Governor, but I have faith that by next year domestic workers in California will be able to count on having health and safety protections at work.”
What’s Next?
In a few short weeks,we expect that SB1257 will go before the State Assembly Labor Committee, the bill’s first stop as it makes its way through the State Assembly.
In the meantime, please continue to show your support for the Health and Safety for All Workers Act! Follow and share our hashtag #MyHealthMyDignity on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and invite your friends and family to sign up for this email list to get more people involved in our growing movement.