Xandi McMahon (they/them) /
Domestic Workers United /
New York City, USA /
Over the last month, DWU has continued its “Know Your Rights” campaign remotely. This predominantly entails weekly Tele/Zoom town hall meetings, where DWU members get together, listen to a presentation on a particular topic relevant to us, and engage in a discussion and question/answer forum afterward. Overall, these meetings have been very productive, catalyzing important conversations and expanding DWU’s resources.
For our most recent meeting on Saturday, we invited Ravi Ragbir, the executive director of the New Sanctuary Coalition, to speak about his personal and organizational experience with the immigration system in the United States. Ravi delivered indispensable advice to DWU members about how to respond when ICE comes looking for you, all of which connected to the overall message that having community is imperative. He explained how to be an ally under these circumstances and how to create and find safe (sanctuary) spaces in the city.
This is just one example of the many meetings we’ve had during the summer. We’ve also notably had mental health specialists, economic advisors, and representatives from the city. Organizers come as well to speak about negotiating contracts with employers.
Many of the events and organizing DWU planned to do prior to the pandemic has since shifted, but we have all managed to find new ways to come together and connect with one another. We currently have two programs up and running that are helping with food security and financial stability for DWU members. The first is a weekly fresh food box from Maple Street Community Garden, provided for free to domestic workers through funding from DWU grants. The garden is run by members of the Flatbush/Crown Heights community.
The second program is called “Love Offerings.” Its goal is to provide emergency stipends to DWU members to help with bills, groceries, rent, and COVID-19-related loss of income. We’ve had some technical challenges with GoFundMe that have delayed the payouts, but this will hopefully be resolved this week!
Along with these programs, there are ongoing efforts to revamp DWU’s website as well.