Documentary Airing Nationally on PBS Chronicles the Fight for Domestic Workers Rights |
(Los Angeles) Hundreds of domestic workers, employers, and supporters poured into a packed Brava Theater in the Mission on Thursday evening to watch “Dignidad: California Domestic Workers’ Journey for Justice.” Currently airing on PBS, the documentary follows domestic workers in California as they organize for job protections throughout the pandemic. Dignidad profiles two members of the California Domestic Workers Coalition (CDWC) whose poignant stories illustrate the severity of the health and safety challenges that workers inside the home can face on a daily basis. Rooted in the sordid history of anti-black racism in this country, domestic workers such as homecare workers, nannies, and house cleaners have been systematically excluded from health and safety protections at their workplaces.
“Caregivers are essential workers, we need to be protected because we risk our lives,” said Rock Delgado, a member of the Pilipino Workers Center. “ When COVID-19 was surging, I had no control over who was coming into the house I was working in [home] and could only protect myself with a mask. In April 2020, I was diagnosed with severe pneumonia and was intubated in the ICU. Without worker health and safety protections, so many workers are unaware of their rights and sacrifice their health to keep their jobs. I hope this film and our stories help raise awareness and bring these protections to all workers.”
“We are so grateful to our members for the work that they do both in the homes of others and on the streets of California, making our state safer and healthier for all of us. And we are grateful to the filmmakers for capturing this moment in time,” says CDWC Director Kimberly Alvarenga. “Tonight is a celebration of where we have been and where we are going. Since winning SB 321, domestic workers, employers, and health and safety experts worked with the Governor’s Office and Cal/OSHA to establish the first ever health and safety guidelines for our industry. And the next chapter in the story should come later this year when the Governor makes history and signs historic protections for domestic workers into law!”
The film was produced by the UC Davis Environmental Health Center and directed by award-winning filmmaker and journalist, Paige Bierma. The film shows the challenges that domestic workers face as they provide care for our families and our homes and details the tireless advocacy of domestic workers to fix this historic injustice.