In 2003, DWU members celebrated a victory in City Council with the passage of city legislation protecting the rights and dignity of domestic workers placed by employment agencies, and a resolution calling on all domestic employers to follow the guidelines in DWU's standard contract. Soon after, members of DWU held a convention to discuss the establishment of fair labor standards for domestic workers in NY. The convention resulted in the drafting of NY State legislation, The Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.

The Domestic Workers Bill of Rights is legislation to establish fair labor standards for domestic workers in NY State, including a living wage, health care and basic benefits. The Bill of Rights addresses the exclusion of domestic workers from most basic labor protections, provides recognition for the workforce as a real workforce, and establishes specific protections to address the isolation and vulnerability of domestic workers to abuse and mistreatment. To support the campaign, download the Organizing Packet.

Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights Endorsement Form

DWU Organizing Packet (English)  /  (Español)

DWU is a resource and support for workers who have suffered abuse or violations of their rights on the job. We conduct referrals, provide direct advocacy with employers, organize public support and offer legal services for DWU members. We currently represent domestic workers in their cases to win justice for their suffering and have won over $300,000.00 in unpaid wages for domestic workers since 2000. For more information, contact the DWU office at (718) 220-7391 x 11 or 23.

The following are testimonies of domestic workers submitted for the Domestic Workers Human Rights Tribunal, held in New York City, October 8, 2005:

Ms. L: "When the amount of money that my employer owed me accumulated, she started to humiliate me. After a while, she would say that I did not speak English, and that I did not deserve the salary that she was supposed to pay me. Many times around 11:00 o'clock at night, she would wake me up and she would ask me to clean the floor with Clorox Bleach, saying that the house was dirty and that I had to clean it. I had to buy food for me, for her son, and for the dog because she would not give any money for the groceries. With the little money that she randomly paid me, I was able to do that."

Ms. E: "I used to sleep on the floor in the corner of the living room. I was only given 1 blanket, 1 comforter, and 1 pillow. In the summertime, it would get so hot, but I was denied to use the AC because the electricity bill would go up. It wasn't comfortable at all. In the wintertime, it would get so cold. And I would try to sleep with warm clothes because I had one comforter. The conditions were terrifying and humiliating."

Ms. T: "We are verbally assaulted and we have to stay quiet. Often we end up leaving these jobs when we can't take it anymore. What is sad and difficult is that sometimes we are not paid a single penny for the work we've done. In my case, I have had good, considerate employers but in these years I have also experienced difficulties, which I never thought I would have to endure - discrimination because of the color of my skin and for being an immigrant. They've made me sleep in a basement with no heat in the dead of winter. They've denied me food during the time I was living in and also forbid me to bring food for myself from outside. I've also been yelled out to the point where I was becoming sick with depression and nervousness. I left my last job so exhausted and destroyed I could only think of hurling myself in front of passing cars because I was made to feel so bad I wanted to die. I felt worse than a worm after the way they told me how poor I was and that's why I was worth nothing."