Shared Struggle Led Women to Political Action

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/20/AR2008072002215.html?hpid=topnews

Domestic Workers Spurred Montgomery Protections

By Katherine Shaver
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 21, 2008; Page A01

Most Sundays for the past six years, about 25 live-in nannies and housekeepers from across the Washington area have gathered in Silver Spring to share stories of mandatory six-day workweeks, 14-hour days and salaries that amount to as little as $1 an hour.

Calling themselves the Committee of Women Seeking Justice, they gather in a circle and commiserate in English, Spanish, Hindi and French. Among the topics: no sick days, little overtime pay, feeling "on call" at all hours and sleeping on basement floors. Several have shared stories of having been kept as modern-day slaves, organizers said, rarely allowed out of the house and never seeing a cent.


Ines Cruz Yslava is a member of a group of domestic workers who successfully campaigned for increased protections. (By Melina Mara -- The Washington Post)


Some are so worried their bosses will find out about the meetings that organizers use code -- "Come to my nephew's christening" or "Come to my niece's birthday party" -- when calling their employers' homes.

What began as an informal support group soon blossomed into a political movement for workers' rights. After four years of petition drives and appealing to local lawmakers, the group claimed a key victory last week, when the Montgomery County Council approved what are believed to be among the most far-reaching labor protections for domestic workers in the country.

A coalition of 31 religious, labor and community organizations provided legal advice, political savvy and emotional support, organizers said, but it was the passion of these women that sustained the cause.

"We were ready to say, 'These abuses are over,' " said Ines Cruz Yslava of Silver Spring, a former live-in housekeeper who now works full time cleaning homes in Bethesda and Howard County.

FULL story at link.