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] [6]

Contents

Background

There are two million domestic workers in the US, most of whom are immigrants and women of color. [7] Domestic workers include nannies, housekeepers and home care workers who assist the elderly or people with disabilities. [7] They are a very diverse and largely overlooked group, and most make less than 13 dollars an hour. [3] [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]

In September 2025, the NDWA along with the ACLU submitted comments to the United States Department of Labor opposing the potential change in policy to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The potential policy changes would remove minimum wage and overtime protections for domestic workers. [13] [14]

Leadership

Ai-jen Poo is the president and Jenn Stowe is the executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. [15] [16] 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. [16] In 2014, she was awarded a MacArthur fellowship. [17] [3] The five-year grant awards Poo with $625,000 to support any work of her choice, in this case, the NDWA. [18] [17] [19]

Alicia Garza, who co-founded the Black Lives Matter network, is the Director of Strategy and Partnerships at the National Domestic Workers Alliance. [20]

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 4 5 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. ↑ Joseph, Ralph Thomassaint (2025-09-10). "Domestic Workers Face Low Pay, Exploitation — and Fear of Deportation". Documented. Retrieved 2025-10-30.
  7. 1 2 "COVID-19 – National Domestic Workers Alliance". Center for Disaster Philanthropy. Retrieved 2025-10-21.
  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. ↑ Lugo, Denise (24 September 2025). "A New Labor Rule Could Push Caregivers to the Breaking Point". aclu.org. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  14. ↑ Thomas, Gillian (2 September 2025). "ACLU Opposes Department of Labor's Proposal to Strip Wage Protections from Home Care Workers". ACLU.com. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  15. ↑ Jeske, Sam (2025-06-12). "Jayapal Introduces Legislation to Protect Domestic Workers". Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
  16. 1 2 "53: National Domestic Workers Alliance names new executive director" . Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  17. 1 2 "MacArthur 'Genius' Ai-jen Poo: Organizing America's Domestic Workers". NBC News. 2014-09-17. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
  18. ↑ "Ai-jen Poo CC'96 Wins 2014 MacArthur Genius Grant". Columbia College. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  19. ↑ constructive (2014-09-18). "Domestic Workers Advocate Ai-jen Poo Wins MacArthur Fellowship". PHI. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
  20. ↑ "Spokespersons | National Domestic Workers Alliance". domesticworkers.org. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
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