Dozens of domestic workers and labor rights advocates protested in front of a residential building in Manhattan yesterday noon, claiming a “heartless” employer, residing in one of the apartments, abused the rights of a housekeeper. The protestors described domestic workers, such as nannies, housekeepers and elderly caregivers, who are not protected by the current legislation, as a minority group.
Protestors and students stood on the sidewalk in front of a luxury residential building in Chelsea, holding signs and shouting slogans. Ai-Jen Poo, organizer of Domestic Workers United, said a couple hired a nanny after moving from an apartment in Tribeca, but the worker was paid below minimum wage, with no overtime, and, the worst of all, was physically abused by her employers.
According to Poo, whose organization helps immigrant workers in this field to fight for labor rights since 2000, dozens of similar cases of abuse are discovered as nannies or housekeepers are not protected by the labor laws. In all five boroughs of New York City, the number of domestic workers reaches at least 200,000, with a majority of new immigrants who don’t speak English and are unfamiliar with local labor laws. The fact that many are hired in their own ethnic communities, with a pressure from their personal tie with employers, makes them more reluctant to voice their demands.
A survey completed in 2005, revealed that more than half of the domestic workers were not paid overtime and one-third of the respondents had been victims of some sort of abuse. Poo said that as the trend for U.S. families to adopt children from China grows, they tend to hire Chinese nannies. Even though these families are supposed to be good-hearted and are well off, it doesn’t mean that paying minimum wage is a normal practice.
A Chinese woman who recently had a newborn baby said, once she posted an ad on a Chinese-language newspaper to hire a nanny, she received numerous phone calls, many from parents living with their children and can only work off-the-books.
“To these workers, a salary isn’t a major issue,” said the woman. “Most employers will put ‘minimal housework’ in the ad, but it isn’t equivalent to no housework.” She said that many employers want to benefit from every penny they pay, so they utilize a worker around the clock – from doing laundry, cooking, cleaning to overnight care giving. Sometimes, when the employers cannot get home on time, these workers have to stay on duty until their return, often without complaining.
Poo said that she hopes the state legislature can pass a law to resolve this problem soon, so that domestic workers can continue their work under the protection of the law.
