truthout |
On September 28, domestic workers in California secured a long-fought victory with the signing of SB 1350, a bill that grants the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) the authority to enforce health and safety regulations in private homes that employ domestic workers.
Sponsored by California State Sen Maria Elena Durazo and supported by the California Domestic Workers Coalition, this legislation ends the discriminatory exclusion of domestic work from Cal/OSHA protections — an exclusion rooted in a racist and sexist history of labor in the U.S., where domestic work, primarily done by women of color, has been devalued.
The California Domestic Workers Coalition — whose steering committee is made up of Alianza de Mujeres Activas y Solidarias (ALMAS), Filipino Advocates for Justice (FAJ), La Colectiva de Mujeres San Francisco, Mujeres Unidas y Activas, Hand in Hand, Women Employment Rights Clinic, the Institute for Popular Education of Southern California (IDEPSCA), Pilipino Workers’ Center (PWC), the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), California Immigrant Policy Center and UCLA Labor Center — took to their social media platforms on to announce the news, explaining that the bill would cover more than 175,000 domestic workers who work for agencies doing child care and cleaning.
While this victory is undoubtedly a cause for celebration, some members of the coalition believe there is more to be won. Originally, the bill was to include domestic workers employed under an agency or “dueña de ruta” and workers facing “high hazard” conditions such as work done above seven feet, in the case of wildfire and disaster clean up or exposure to carcinogens. This second group of workers were carved out of the final bill during negotiations.
The win is bittersweet for many in the movement, as it also comes too late for some who have already suffered and lost their lives due to unsafe working conditions. While an exact tally for injuries and deaths is not available, a 2020 report by University of California Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program (UCLA LOSH) found that 51 percent of domestic workers surveyed reported experiencing “pressure from their employer to work in dangerous conditions.” An overwhelming majority, 85 percent, reported sustaining injuries resulting in chronic leg, back and arm pain. More than half of respondents continued to work in spite of the pain due to financial necessity.
At countless rallies, like the one that took place outside of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office on September 27 organized by CDWA members IDEPSCA and CHIRLA, speakers spoke out about the risks to health and safety faced by workers. The rallies have included street theater performances, die-ins and altares (memorial altars) featuring photos and offerings to fallen workers. Participants in these rallies include workers with firsthand experience with issues like the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfire cleanup, toxic chemical inhalation, and other occupational hazards.
Kenia Pinto
One home health care worker who spoke at the September 27 rally in Los Angeles, and was identified only as Christine from Pilipino Workers’ Center, said: “Home care workers like me face occupational hazards every day. In a previous job with an agency many years ago I had to lift a quadriplegic client from a bed to a wheelchair every day without a hoyer lift. These are the kinds of daily routines that can injure a worker.”
Worker testimonies like Christine’s have played a powerful role in the movement in previous years as well, both at rallies and on social media platforms, where workers like Andrea have taken to share their stories. Workers like Andrea, who are hired directly by private households, however, will not be covered by the current bill, whose focus is on bringing California into compliance with federal OSHA standards which do cover workers employed in agencies like Christine.