National Domestic Workers Alliance

Last updated
National Domestic Workers Alliance
Formation2007;18 years ago (2007) [1]
President
 Ai-jen Poo
Executive Director
Jenn Stowe
Director of Strategy & Partnerships
 Alicia Garza
Website www.domesticworkers.org OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The National Domestic Workers Alliance is an advocacy organization promoting the rights of domestic workers in the United States. Founded in 2007, it is made up of 4 local chapters and 63 affiliate organizations around the country, along with thousands of individual members. [2] [3] Their work advocates for low-income laborers in the context of broader social justice issues, including immigration reform, domestic violence, and more recently the #MeToo movement [4] and the COVID-19 pandemic. [5]

Contents

Background

There are two million domestic workers in the US, most of whom are immigrants and women of color. [6] Domestic workers include nannies, housekeepers and home care workers who assist the elderly or people with disabilities. [6] They are a very diverse and largely overlooked group, and most make less than 13 dollars an hour. [7] [1]

The NDWA advocates for a Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights, including overtime pay, one day off per week, and protection under state human rights laws. [3] A version of this bill of rights was passed in New York [8] in 2010 thanks to the NDWA's advocacy, and similar legislation was introduced in California in 2013. [3] [9] [10] [11] Since then, ten other states have passed similar laws in addition to cities like Seattle, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia. [8]

In 2024, the NDWA presented a black domestic workers through family portraits entitled The Legacy of Care, A Portrait Series, shot by Braylen Dion. [12]

Leadership

Ai-jen Poo is the president and Jenn Stowe is the executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. [13] [14] When Poo was studying at Columbia, she started volunteering with the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence, which is where she became aware of the overlooked needs of domestic workers. [14] In 2014, she was awarded a MacArthur fellowship. [15] [7] The five-year grant awards Poo with $625,000 to support any work of her choice, in this case, the NDWA. [16] [15] [17]

Alicia Garza, who co-founded the Black Lives Matter network, is the Director of Strategy and Partnerships at the National Domestic Workers Alliance. [18]

References

  1. 1 2 "COVID-19 – National Domestic Workers Alliance". disasterphilanthropy.org. CDP. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  2. ↑ "About Us | National Domestic Workers Alliance". www.domesticworkers.org. Archived from the original on 2018-03-26. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  3. 1 2 3 Hilgers, Lauren (2019-02-21). "The New Labor Movement Fighting for Domestic Workers' Rights". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-03-10.
  4. ↑ "Meeting rallies to 'stand with those whose backs are against the wall'" . Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  5. ↑ Woodruff, Judy (2021-03-24). "Ai-jen Poo, Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance". PBS NewsHour. Brief but Spectacular. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  6. 1 2 "COVID-19 – National Domestic Workers Alliance". Center for Disaster Philanthropy. Retrieved 2025-10-21.
  7. 1 2 Hilgers, Lauren (2019-02-21). "The New Labor Movement Fighting for Domestic Workers' Rights". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  8. 1 2 Hardy, Kevin (2024-12-18). "'Why not us?' Nannies, housekeepers win labor protections in some states. • Stateline". Stateline. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
  9. ↑ New York State Department of Labor. "Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights". Archived from the original on 2018-05-25.
  10. ↑ "The Domestic Worker Bill of Rights (AB 241)". State of California Department of Industrial Relations. July 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  11. ↑ "Nannies Join Employees Required to Receive Overtime Under California's Domestic Worker Bill Of Rights | Littler". www.littler.com. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
  12. ↑ "The Legacy Of Care: This Powerful New Portrait Series Celebrates The Impact Of Black Domestic Workers". Essence. 2024-11-19. Retrieved 2025-10-21.
  13. ↑ Jeske, Sam (2025-06-12). "Jayapal Introduces Legislation to Protect Domestic Workers". Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
  14. 1 2 "53: National Domestic Workers Alliance names new executive director" . Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  15. 1 2 "MacArthur 'Genius' Ai-jen Poo: Organizing America's Domestic Workers". NBC News. 2014-09-17. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
  16. ↑ "Ai-jen Poo CC'96 Wins 2014 MacArthur Genius Grant". Columbia College. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  17. ↑ constructive (2014-09-18). "Domestic Workers Advocate Ai-jen Poo Wins MacArthur Fellowship". PHI. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
  18. ↑ "Spokespersons | National Domestic Workers Alliance". domesticworkers.org. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
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