USSF Session Reports

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a voluntary federation of 54 national and international labor unions, representing more than 10 million workers across the United States. Their mission is to improve the lives of working families—to bring economic justice to the workplace and social justice to the nation. To accomplish this mission they seek to build and change the American labor movement: by organising workers into unions, recruiting and training the next generation of organisers, garnering resources needed to organize and create strategies to win organizing campaigns and union contracts, and provide a strong political voice for workers in the country. The focus is also on fighting for an agenda for working families at all levels of government and empowering state federations. This will build and fortify a progressive coalition that speaks out for social and economic justice; wherein workers in the global economy, in the industries in which they are employed, in firms where they work, and on the job every day, can voice their opinions forcefully on the public issues that affect our lives. AFL-CIO seeks to transform the role of the union from an organization that focuses on a member's contract to one that gives workers a say in all the decisions that affect their working lives—from capital investments, to the quality of products and services, to how they organize their work. “We will create vibrant community labor councils that reach out to workers at the local level. We will strengthen the ties of labor to our allies. We will speak out in effective and creative ways on behalf of all working Americans”.

Session Description

Globalization, free-trades policies, and corporate driven labor policies in the U.S. have put pressure on the U.S. labor movement while simultaneously creating a growing number of workers, largely immigrants, who are super-exploited by unscrupulous employers. To exercise their rights, workers have been self-organizing by creating Worker Centers that advocate for their members through collective education and action, while also providing a broad array of assistance to its members and their families. In August 2006, the AFL-CIO decided to partner with Worker Centers across the country by formalizing ties between Central Labor Councils, State Federations and local Worker Centers. This workshop will share different models for collaboration for worker rights and immigration reform.

Suggested Presenters: (not all are confirmed)

Pablo Alvarado, Executive Director, National Day Labor Organizing Network

Caroline Murray, Director, Anti-Displacement Project/Casa Obrera

Eddie Acosta, Worker Center Coordinator, AFL-CIO

Victor Narro, Director, UCLA Downtown Labor Center

Marilyn Baird, Director, Central North Carolina Worker Center

There were about 60 people participating in this workshop, including the panelists. It was fairly mixed by gender. It was mainly white, Latino, and black. There were two women who spoke only Spanish and a woman translated for them (they sat next to her because there was no translation equipment). The participants ranged in age from 25-50, with most being about 35-45 years old.

Eddie Acosta (is the National Worker Center Coordinator for the AFL-CIO). The name of this session is a little different than the main focus of this workshop, which is on workers’ centers and labor unions.

Eddie introduced the other panelists:

1. Frances Boyes (Alliance to Develop Power, Springfield, Massachusetts, an anti-displacement project)

2. Joyce Johnson (Central Carolina Workers Center, which worked on the Smithville campaign. She’s from a right to work state, North Carolina.

3. Enco Moto (National Day Laborers’ Organizing Network)

Eddie Acosta: Many workers fall outside of unions: independent contractors, day laborers, etc. Uniting of workers is the main idea. There are about 160 workers centers in the US. AFL-CIO and its affiliate unions sometimes clash at the city hall with the workers’ centers. AFL-CIO varies locally in terms of its relationship to immigrant workers and day laborers but it is trying to improve this. There has been a split in the labor movement and pressure from the centers and from the Change to Win Coalition leading to this change. The AFL-CIO has adopted a charter to allow workers’ centers to join the AFL-CIO and be involved at a deeper level at the state and local levels. They can join and sit at the table with other unions. Worker centers similar to constituency groups such as CLUE will join central labor councils for a nominal fee. They cannot vote because they do not pay regular dues but they can join AFL-CIO committees and have a say on the issues. Local workers’ centers and unions vary and so do their relationships. This agreement started last August. Out of the 160 workers centers, about 15 belong to the interfaith network and 30 belong to the National Day Laborers’ Organizing Network. The specific agreement includes taking the same position on immigration reform at the national level; to work on laws to promote the interests of day laborers; and to help with court cases that can shift policy towards immigrant workers/day laborers.

Frances Boyes: (replaced another person on the panel, and is new to the organisation, and read from her notes) Tenants collectively own the buildings where they live and they own shops collectively. All members are low-income. Members created this workers’ center to create jobs and it functions as a hiring hall. The relationship with the AFL-CIO grew out of the local central labor council. They saw struggles of day laborers as their own. Casa Workers’ Center is open to ADP members and they organize construction workers. Contractors were not using immigrant labor. The workers’ center was built by materials donated by the unions. They see that they have mutual interests with the day laborers in terms of having good jobs. The agreement they developed is a 3 to 1 agreement that for every 3 union workers, one day laborer from the workers’ center will be hired. The center also functions as a legal services center. They train workers to prepare for when the raids of immigrants happen and what to do.

Joyce Johnson: is the director, standing in for the Economic Justice coordinator and is most familiar with this workers’ center. Their approach is one of community unionism, emphasizing dignity, work, and the potential of everyone, (“You are a resident and you are important”) and the campaign with K-mart became a model. Workers made efforts to unionize and were approached by their ministers who are key to change in the Bible Belt. There was a substantial difference in wages (between the day laborers and regular workers). Ministers supported the campaign and were arrested when they prayed outside the company’s doors. Students also got arrested and got involved through assignments for their labor studies program in the local university. The organisation is engaged with many different community groups. The Smithville campaign has become well known. It created a labor-community alliance, going to groceries selling Smithfield ham and other products and pressurising the groceries to boycott goods because of a lack of safe and good working conditions. Black, Latino, and white workers have joined together. The service workers are involved in welfare, education, housing, etc. and have used our information to help the day laborers. We refuse to be divided; we’re humans working together.

Enco Moto: Antilan represents about 30 organizations that are learning from each other. Our goals: 1. Changing the negative image that people have of day laborers. 2. Seeking to legalize immigrants. 3. Supporting all the efforts to do this and making sure that day laborers are included in all of the legislation that the AFL-CIO is supporting. 4. Protecting people’s civil and human rights and improving their working conditions. Often day laborers are not given proper training and equipment to do their jobs. They struggle with anti-immigrant sentiment within labor unions. It is important to have solidarity among all workers. The main differences among workers are in their wages and working conditions. What is required is for day laborers to become union members. The strategy is to identify bad contractors and pressure them to improve working conditions and give them breaks for example. They organize painters and other workers. It is important to validate the work that people do. Home Depot law would prohibit day laborers. This is how the national network got started. The relationship between unions and workers centers is that we learn from each other.

Discussion (Question & Answer session) with the audience:

A white man from Athens, GA: working with a workers’ center for Central American workers. How do you maintain a governing group with so much of a turnover among workers? A panelist acknowledges that this is difficult.

Enco Moto: There will be a national conference to bring worker center members together. He describes a worker center that collectively owns a housekeeping business and they use non-toxic cleaning chemicals that are good for the environment and they hope to bring more women into it and enlarge their company. This is a model for other cities. In Los Angeles, city council person Bernard Parks developed a bill for a city law that would require home improvement stores of a certain size to create a space for workers’ centers. This would set a precedent for other cities. Home Depot opposes this bill.

A white man (belongs to the Young Socialists from Minneapolis): describes a raid in the plants, wherein ICE took all non-white workers and did the same at the trailer parks. This was after the Sensen-Brenner bill was defeated and after the May Day protests. These raids are reactions to this. Immigrant rights are a life and death struggle for the labor movement. How do we build the immigrant rights movement? We don’t choose the lesser of two evils on immigration bills.

Eddie Acosta: The AFL-CIO bill was killed in the senate yesterday. Some people were sad but also relieved because this bill is a disaster for working people. In 1986, IRCA was passed and we supported employer sanctions for employing knowingly or not an undocumented immigrant. Since then, the AFL-CIO has changed its position on immigration policy. We seek to legalize all undocumented workers and to raise their wages. The bill represented a compromise on immigration and legalization was traded for guest worker program. What you do with future immigrants is important. If you are in the US, you should have equal rights. There should be no guest worker program. What you are for future flow is key. If workers come in for a job that needs to be filled because US workers are unavailable, then visas should be given for the number of workers that are needed. Match the number of visas to the number of non-US workers needed by employers and they should be given full labor rights. We are opposed to employer sanctions and the employer-identified program that identifies what workers are. 7-8,000 employers use this system. Most information is false and this can blacklist union organizers. AFL-CIO opposed the immigration bill and opposed the guest worker program but not all affiliated unions agree on immigration legislation. There should not be parallel movements. There is a need to bring the two movements together and address immigrants at the point of production.

Latina woman (an AFSC volunteer from New Hampshire who is on the national immigrant rights task force and on the labor committee). She says that each state can have their own regulations. Unfortunate truth is that workers on corners can be a problem sometimes.

Enco Moto: There is a need to educate people to keep the space clean and to not harass people.

Latina woman in audience (belongs to an immigrant rights group in Alburquerque New Mexico): What position will the AFL-CIO take in the future. Will they support a bill similar to what you stated in the next 7-8 years? How do you organize workers who feel alienated, temporary, and vulnerable?

Eddie: The Congress is still very conservative even though the Democrats now have the majority. Kennedy supported a pro-union bill, the employer of choice bill and he drove the immigration bill. No senator proposed a comprehensive immigration bill but would offer amendments to other bills that were pro-labor. The pro-labor and pro-immigrant lobbies have been divided. We can’t be divided on this issue. I am talking as an individual, not a representative of the AFL-CIO. We need to agree on principals. We cannot get a perfect bill. We cannot get what we want if we are divided. Kennedy is a good ally. We struck a bargain in the last bill. 12 million immigrants would be legalized in exchange for a guest worker program. Next year, there is not likely to be an immigration bill passed because it’s a presidential election year. What do we do to push back against the anti-immigration sentiment. We want to fix the Hoffman-Plastics decision. That decision upheld the legality of having a worker during a union organizing campaign answer regarding whether he was documented. Prior policy said that would illegal. We can’t have corporate control of immigration and labor laws. The AFL-CIO tends to separate immigration and labor issues.

Joyce Johnson: We are all together We use the resources of the documented workers to help the undocumented with theft of wages (back pay of wages) and the need for march permits.

White woman in audience: What are you doing to organize women?

Enco Moto: In Pasadena, CA, a workers center organized household workers. They were having meetings weekly and discussing gender issues, health, and safety. They reached out to eco-friendly organizations and met a group in San Francisco for workshops on environmentally friendly cleansers (non-toxic). They formed Magic Cleaners, a collectively owned company and they are bringing in more women into the company.

Joyce Johnson: The worker center and public services union combines key issues, such as child welfare and educational justice. They address women’s concerns with schools.

White man: There was a raid of immigrant workers in New Haven with only warrants for 10. They came in uninvited into their homes. They separated families. This was backlash against a proposal for giving them identification cards.

Joyce Johnson: There have also been problems with ICE. Unions and the Commission on the Status of Women have opposed these practices. Our organisation works in a community that is not very diverse, but the no-match issue arose in Smithfield and they negotiated for workers to stay. There was one case of clear racial discrimination in which black Hondurans were not questioned because they were black, not Latino. After this bill, how do we defend people against these raids?

Eli Green (Steelworkers union, a black male oil worker): There is a need to consummate this marriage between workers centers and unions. Black workers were historically used as strike breakers. There is a need to confront divisions among workers and anti-immigrant sentiment. There are some black, Latino, and white workers unclear on these issues. Minutemen organized a demonstration in Leimert Park (were invited to do so by Ted Hayes). About 60 minutemen showed up and 400 pro-immigrant people did. The police turned the minutemen away.

Joyce Johnson: But the culture within some unions isn’t open to receiving undocumented workers. People (undocumented) need to move into unions. Some courtships take longer than others.

Eddie Acosta: In the Change to Win unions, there’s not enough done to work well with immigrants at the local level. We are putting together a curriculum to distribute through the Central Labor Councils to educate local union members. Unions and workers centers are working together on this to overcome polarization among workers. You need to let people get their feelings out before you change their minds on these kinds of issues.

Cuban-American translator (from the Mississippi Immigrant Rights Association) states that she has something positive to share before the workshop ends. They are now accepting passports as ID’s for bank accounts, an issue her group worked on. She also encourages the participants to keep in touch and work together on these issues.

Summary:

The panelists in this session was generally reformist since it was calling for better immigration legislation, although socialists in the audience were urging a more radical line by the AFL-CIO around immigrants’ rights. Participants saw a positive role for the government in that they were pushing for better immigration and labor policies. At one point in the session, Eddie Acosta mentioned that there was a state legislator who had left the room that was an ally in terms of supporting workers and immigrants’ rights. The discussion was mainly focused on local and national politics rather than global politics. There was no discussion of the Social Forum process.

Participants seemed to be from various cities in the nation, though a bit more discussion of the South and Midwest than other regions in the US, both in terms of anti-immigrant sentiment actions/sentiments as well as model initiatives and organizing models.

Various participants in the discussion mainly seemed interested in learning from the experiences of the panelists and their advice for their local work with immigrant workers and workers’ centers, or were interested in getting involved in the AFL-CIO network. Others were interested in discussing national politics around immigration and how to improve immigration legislation and get the labor movement to help in this. There was also encouragement for people to continue to work on behalf of immigrant workers expressed and an effort to instill hope in people demoralized by the challenges by mentioning local victories. When the session ended, various participants came up to the panelists, especially Eddie and there was exchanging of cards, etc.

What group(s) organized this workshop? What unions or labor organizations (workers’ center or other organization) participated on the panel? Please list them.

AFL-CIO organized this workshop.

Panelists: AFL-CIO National Worker Center Coordinator for the AFL-CIO; Alliance to Develop Power, an anti-displacement project; Central Carolina Workers Center; AFL-CIO National Day Laborers’ Organizing Network.

Was the panel diverse in terms of age, race/ethnicity, language, and country of residence? Was it gender balanced? Describe the panelists.

All panelists were between 35 and 50 years of age. It was gender balanced and racially diverse (though no Asians). There were 2 Latino men, a black woman, and a white woman.

Was the audience diverse in terms of age, race/ethnicity, language, and country of residence? Was it gender balanced? Describe the audience.

There were about 60 people participating in this workshop, including the panelists. It was fairly mixed by gender. It was mainly white, Latino, and black. There are two women who speak only Spanish and a woman translates for them (they sit next to her b/c there is no translation equipment). The participants range in ages from 25-50, with most about 35-45 years old.

Was anything non-traditional in terms of the panelists’ approach to labor organizing, strategies, or leadership development?

The AFL-CIO and its unions are building closer ties to workers centers and allowing workers centers to participate in AFL-CIO committees and to participate in Central Labor Councils for nominal fees.

Were community-labor alliances discussed? Which community groups were mentioned and what did they do?

Yes, students and ministers supported the Smitheville campaign in North Carolina by getting arrested. The campaign involved workers and various community groups. They went to groceries selling Smithfield ham and other products and pressured the groceries to boycott goods because of a lack of safe and good working conditions. There were back wages owed; they got them back.

Panelists and audience members emphasized the importance for the labor movement to support the immigrant rights movement and to work together for better immigration legislation and to support immigrants rights locally in terms of protecting them against immigration raids, the Minute Men, and promoting their rights locally.

International labor solidarity: Were examples of support for, or alliances with, unions in other countries discussed? Which countries? What kind of support or alliance was created and for what purpose?

No; the focus was national and local.

Cross-movement connections: Were connections to, or alliances with, other kinds of social movements discussed? What other movements and what links to the labor movement were made? If there was a shared goal or campaign, what was it?

See above; there were links made to the immigrants’ rights movement and to the environmental movements.

Were formal networks or coalitions formed or discussed? What was the purpose of this network or coalition?

The AFL-CIO and its unions are building closer ties to workers centers and have created a National Day Laborers Organizing Network and a network of workers’ centers.

Did informal networking occur before or after the session? Please describe.

Yes, people expressed interest in the workers’ center network and exchanged cards with the workers center network coordinator and other panelists.

Were future plans for actions/campaigns, or on-going actions/campaigns discussed? If so, what were they?

One panelist emphasized the need for immigrant rights and labor activists to discuss immigration reform and cooperate on promoting better legislation. The on-going work of the workers’ centers and building links between immigrant workers and unions was discussed.

What seemed to be the main outcomes (or goals or purpose) of this workshop?

The main goal of the workshop seemed to inform people about the AFL-CIO’s network of workers’ centers to folks working with immigrant workers in their local areas so that they could expand this network. It also provided people with ideas on various ways that unions could support workers’ centers and immigrant workers’ rights.

Contact Details:

Fred Azcarate, Director, Voice@Work
815 16^th Street, NW, Washington DC 20006, Tel: 202-639-6229, Email: fazcarat@aflcio.org, Website: www.aflcio.org

Organizing in the Shadow of Slavery: Domestic Workers, Farm Workers and Low-Wage Workers in the South

Date and Venue: June 30, 2007 at the International C Room at the Westin Hotel

Proposing Organisation: Domestic Workers United

This workshop was being coordinated by participants in the National Gathering of Domestic/Household Workers taking place at the forum and represented 12 domestic workers organizations across the country, concentrated in New York, Washington DC, LA, and San Francisco Bay Area. They were all members of organizations of domestic workers - including housekeepers, nannies and elderly caregivers who are predominantly immigrant women of color low-wage workers organizing for power, respect, and fair working conditions.

Session Description

The session included a brief history of how the legacy of slavery has shaped the development of the economy in the US, and the persistent racism and sexism that has led to the ongoing exclusion of key workforces of color from recognition and basic workers rights. The exclusion of farm workers and domestic workers from the National Labor Relations Act, and the exclusion of civil sector workers in the South from the right to organize are two examples of this reality. This combined with neoliberal globalization has led to the deterioration of working conditions and the right to organize for all low-wage workers, mass displacement and migration, poverty, and exploitation of migrant farm and domestic workers from the global South in the US. Despite this, farm workers, domestic workers and low-wage workers in the South have been organizing for better conditions and continue to innovate new strategies to hold employers and the state accountable.

The session will put organizations organizing on these fronts in dialogue with each other and with labor historians and political economic theorists in order to deepen the analysis of the roots of oppression facing these workforces, identify the common histories and current struggles and strengthen the organizing through making connections. Organizations will present on their work and their organizing methods and engage one another on key questions related to building a coordinated low-wage workers movement in the US that can undo this racist, sexist legacy, and win justice and respect for all workers.

The audience had about 110 people and were mostly women and very racially and ethnically, mixed. It was mainly blacks and Latinos, but a fair number of men, Philipinos, Asian-Americans, and whites were also in the audience. There was a literature table with literature and t-shirts from 2 organizations for sale along the side. Various people picked up literature, bought shirts, etc. at the beginning and end of the session. Translation equipment was used throughout for Spanish-to-English translation. Since some panelists spoke English and others’ Spanish and there wasn’t enough equipment for everyone, we had to take turns using the equipment. The room was large and overflowing with people, with not enough chairs.

Moderator: The session began with a session panelist announcing the creation of a new national alliance of domestic worker organizations. A group of 4 DWU members sang a song, with audience participation and loud clapping with the music. A lot of cheering and clapping when they finish. Then everyone chanted, “We will fight, fight, fight…” It felt like a pep rally.

Moderator: The focus of this workshop is black workers/farm workers/domestic workers/immigrant workers. We have exploitation and globalization. Globalization is splitting our nations’ apart and hurting our homelands.

The national network includes about 12-14 organizations. The moderator calls out the names of these organizations and affiliated organization that are participating in this session, with a lot of cheering and representatives of each group were introduced: Domestic Workers United, Migrant Workers’ Association, Women Workers Project, South Asian Women, Committeee for Haitian Refugees, Philipino Workers’ Center, San Francisco Day Labor Women’s Collective, CHIRLA, Coalition for Immoklee Workers, Mississippi Workers’ Association, Garment Workers’ Center.

June Johnson (a black woman, probably with the AFL-CIO): US slavery was brutal and dehumanizing. There are apologies for slavery, but it was stolen labor just like labor is stolen today. People during these times, sustained themselves with traditional medicines and used tobacco to heal wounds. Those rich stand on that stolen labor and its dehumanizing slavery. “If you think you are nothing, your creativity is also stolen. We lost our sense of ourselves. We are pitted together against our brothers and sisters from Haiti and Vietnam and against Latinos. Our spirit helps us to survive. No matter what happens to us, we are fighting. Our fighting is from love for each other and for human beings. We have mis-education. Everything is based on exploiting people of color, indentured servitude, and exploitation”.

Gloria (Domestic worker from POWER in San Francisco, a Latina): The question is where does the US’ richness come from? Its wealth is based on slavery and it is not over. This country enslaves humanity and it has a new name, but it’s the same. Other people are brought here and not considered human beings and it continues. These descendents continue to suffer the ills. Many of us don’t understand. The system says they are poor because they don’t work, but they are exploited. When the first colonizers came, they look for other people to do the work that they don’t want to do themselves. The colonizers enslave Chicanas. First men and women do domestic work, but now it is mostly women and they are paid a very paltry sum. The conditions are terrible and it is an enslavement of every kind. It takes your energy away but we’re so strong, we go back anyway. Men think they are superior and keep women in their homes to serve others and all positions controlling the economy are kept away from women. But women are strong and shall continue to education ourselves. Women the ones taking care of children and they need to get out of their heads that men are superior.

Black Workers for Justice (black man from Raleigh, NC): Slavery and the oppression of slaves was based on racism and sexism. He is part of a state association of workers and women are still paid less than men. This still exists in the south. In the 1970s and 1980s, things changed. Now there are more Latinos. Where he grew up, there is Boundary Street and Line Street. These are the actual names of the streets. These are demarcation lines for apartheid. There is an absolute denial of power from working class people and black people. Most politicians are white. He lives in a right to work state (North Carolina). There are about 22 such states with laws that deny the right to collective bargaining. This is an important challenge for workers. During his participation in past WSFs, he heard that in South Africa all workers are given the right to collective bargaining and that this is a national law. There is urgent need for a national law like that. UN charters and free trade agreements give basic right to collective bargaining. How do we unite and fight for the rights of all workers, especially women workers? This is something we need to consider.

Coalition for Immoklee Workers (Philipino woman): Our master is the global capitalist system led by the US. Economic/social conditions have been created by global capitalism that colonizes the Philippines for raw material, cheap labor, and markets for their products. This exploitative relationship and structural adjustment programs and neoliberal policies have devastated countries; food has to even be imported. This creates forced migration of the unemployed/underemployed. Women have an unemployment rate of 11.5%, compared to 11.3% unemployment rate for men. But out of the 340,000 that migrate for work, 70% are women and 90% of them go into the services, mostly domestic workers. There are 200 million migrants. If we displace work, its like water and it goes elsewhere. So many jobs are outsourced (manufacturing and technical jobs). The labor that used to be done by black women (domestic work) is now being done by immigrant women. They’ve institutionalized slavery in this country by immigration laws that deny our basic labor rights as residents of the country. Domestic workers, like farm workers, are excluded from the National Labor Relations Act. Workers can be terminated if they organize. There is an innate contradiction between employers and workers and therefore the need to organize. Technically, workers are under minimum wage law and overtime laws but there are widespread violations of those laws. There is no social security or healthcare. Workers rely on medicines from the community and from their home countries to survive. These exclusions cannot be tolerated.

Black woman from the DWU: Domestic workers and farmworkers enable those who run the corporations to do their work, but this work is not recognized. Toxic chemicals are used in the fields. Workers have to educate themselves because they aren’t covered by OSHA. Whether an individual is documented or not, he/she has human rights and human rights are workers’ rights. When a person is aware of this, they cannot mess with you. They should be told that immigration shall be informed, and they (the employers) will be sanctioned. We need to stand up for ourselves.

Veronica (Coalition for Immoklee Workers-a Latina): We are exploited as agricultural and domestic workers and we have to get up early to work hard for very little money. Right now, we are fighting for our rights. We organize strikes and marches and attack large corporations like Taco Bell. The agricultural conditions are bad. The existing laws are violated. We have found at least six cases of modern slavery with bosses in full control of their lives (washing clothes, calling home, etc.). They found out that this is illegal. Indentured slavery also happened to black workers in Florida and North Carolina. They were taken to the fields and they were given drugs. The agricultural industry is very exploitative. What is the root of this problem? Modern slavery. The bosses isolate these workers so they won’t talk to other workers. They live in trailers in very poor conditions. The agricultural workers and the domestic workers’ work is not recognized but now we are fighting!

Chanting:(Very energetic and loud)

Si se puede! (repeats).

We will fight back this slavery attack! (repeats)

Grace Chang (Asian-American academic): She discusses visas and how dehumanization is institutionalized through these visas. In terms of the squalid working conditions, employers want to treat the workers like they are not people. It is largely immigrant and women of color and so employers think they can get away with it, but they are dead wrong (because the workers are fighting back). This labor trafficking in agricultural and domestic work is common but overlooked or taken for granted. Trafficking is associated instead with sex workers. People are ignorant and don’t realize it also happens in the agricultural and domestic labor industries. This trafficking is institutionalized and encouraged by bad immigration policies. Trafficking is defined in US federal laws as involving the recruitment or obtaining of person to work through force; including servitude and slavery. The US is the biggest trafficker and we need to hold the government accountable for this and to recognize the similarities between sex, agricultural, and domestic workers.

Audience member (Latina): Domestic workers also use toxic chemicals like agricultural workers do. We also need to recognize that construction workers are exploited.

Audience member (Latina): We work with domestic workers and day laborers. We experience exploitation because of sexism and racism and as immigrants. People’s labor rights are abused and their human rights as immigrants are abused. The immigration laws function very well to maintain a pool of undocumented workers and that’s their intention and then when the government proposes an immigration law, it’s a guest worker program. And the immigration proposal would have required $20,000 for a family of four to legalize and you must prove that you have had a constant employer and this disqualifies domestic workers and day laborers. This is unrealistic.

Panelist from Black Workers for Justice: we need to make a link to patriarchy. Most housekeepers are women and we need to link sexual harassment, workers’ lack of pay, etc. to patriarchy. Immigrant rights are another important part of their exploitation. We need to fully support the May 1^st marches and unions didn’t do this. We have an international petition for rights to collective bargaining and for a bill for workers’ rights. This is a struggle for democracy, for basic rights.

Panelist (black woman): We need to go back to our bases and what they need and are cooking up for change. Not all of our organizations were created at the same time and we need to learn from our grandparent organizations. These organizations have a lot to give and a lot to learn. We need to break down the sexism, racism, etc. that keeps us exploited. We are all equal and we need to break down the system of slavery. We’ve just planted a seed, we’ve just begun. (Giving advice to the newer organizations): Be clear about your differences and resolve them. Acknowledge your victories.

A panelist announces that over 12 domestic worker organizations joined together and formed a national network, the National Domestic Worker Alliance. A panelist: We need to turn things around and use our exclusions (e.g., from the NLRA, due to racism, etc.) as our strength.

We end the session with another round of chanting, denouncing slavery, exploitation, racism, sexism, etc. and upholding workers’ rights. The moderator also announced that the next session would be closed to the public and would be just for members of the organizations that were part of the new national network of domestic workers so that they could focus on the work of that network. There was a lot of informal networking at the end of the session, folks buying shirts, gathering literature, etc. Old friends saying hello, giving hugs to each other, etc.

Summary

The formation of the network along with pushing for the labor rights of domestic and agricultural workers and a national right to collective bargaining were the main concrete proposals discussed. There was no discussion of the Social Forum process, except the comment by the man from Black Workers for Justice about learning from international participants in a prior WSF. The panelists had a radical, intersectional perspective on the exploitation of these workers, emphasizing the intersection of class/race/gender/imperialism, etc. The panelists and participants seemed to represent different areas of the nation (but mainly the South/Northeast/West). This workshop seemed to be a pep rally and a consciousness raising session for members of the organizations involved; it also sought to educate non-members about their issues and organizing. It seemed to emphasize solidarity among the different workers, emphasizing the similarities in the workers’ situation and the need to work together. Ellen Reese spoke to a person in the Pilipino Workers’ Center, who was involved in a series of closed meetings, beginning the day before the USSF to discuss the formation of this new network and how it would operate and each organizations’ participation in it as well as what the network stood for and agreed on, etc.

What group(s) organized this workshop? What unions or labor organizations (workers’ center or other organization) participated on the panel? Please list them.

Who organized this workshop: “This workshop is coordinated by participants in the National Gathering of Domestic/Household Workers taking place at the forum. We represent 12 domestic workers organizations across the country, concentrated in New York, Washington DC, LA, and San Francisco Bay Area. We are all membership organizations of domestic workers - including housekeepers, nannies and elderly caregivers who are predominantly immigrant women of color low-wage workers organizing for power, respect, and fair working conditions.”

Organizations involved included: Domestic Workers United, Migrant Workers’ Association, Women Workers Project, South Asian Women, Committeee for Haitian Refugees, Philipino Workers’ Center, San Francisco Day Labor Women’s Collective, CHIRLA, Coalition for Immoklee Workers, Mississippi Workers’ Association, Garment Workers’ Center…

Panelists represented: Domestic Workers United, Black Workers for Justice, AFL-CIO, Central Carolina Workers’ Center, Coalition for Immokklee Workers, POWER (in San Francisco)

Was the panel diverse in terms of age, race/ethnicity, language, and country of residence? Was it gender balanced? Describe the panelists.

There were 7 women and 1 man including the moderator; they were racially and ethnically diverse (though all people of color from the U.S.); the panel included 3 blacks, 3 Asians, 2 Latinos; at least 3 were immigrant workers.

Was the audience diverse in terms of age, race/ethnicity, language, and country of residence? Was it gender balanced? Describe the audience.

The audience had about 110 people and perhaps even more than this. Participants were mostly women and very racially and ethnically, mixed. It was mainly blacks and Latinos, but a fair number of men, Philipinos, Asian-Americans, and whites were also in the audience.

Was anything non-traditional in terms of the panelists’ approach to labor organizing, strategies, or leadership development?

They are forming a network of independent unions and workers centers organizing domestic workers, a group of workers that is under-represented in the labor movement. They emphasize the empowerment of women of color and emphasized the intersection of race, class, gender, and immigrant status. They emphasized cross-racial solidarity among women of color and emphasized the racial oppression that different groups experienced. The session was very energetic with lots of singing and chanting.

Were community-labor alliances discussed? Which community groups were mentioned and what did they do?

The Coalition of Immokklee Workers formed ties to students and community groups to pressure Taco Bell to improve the working conditions of tomato pickers.

No alliances were mention