Domestic Worker Organizing: From Invisibility to Recognition

Myrla Baldonado is being honored as a Champion of Change for her efforts as an AAPI Women leader.

I have been a home care provider since I moved to the United States in 2007. As a caregiver I worked 24 hour days earning a wage that was lower than the Illinois minimum wage. I prepared food, fed, bathed, cleaned up the house, changed diapers, lifted, turned, dressed wounds, prepared medicine, provided comfort, understanding and love to elderly patients. This work was both physically and emotionally draining. I worked fulltime which placed me in a similar situation as the majority of domestic workers who have families to support with low wages and no benefits. I worked long hours in isolation, struggling often through abusive situations in an unregulated industry where domestic workers are excluded from even the most basic protections such as minimum wage and overtime pay. Furthermore, I experienced loneliness, humiliation and loss of self-esteem.

This suffering encouraged me to develop the courage to stand up and speak to the general public about my own personal experiences and that of other caregivers whom I have met through my work. In my search for a solution I joined Caring Across Generations and started to understand that the growing need for more caregivers is being fueled by the quickly aging American population. Immigrant women and people of color like me make up the majority of workers who are meeting this demand for care. Thus, in order to achieve quality long term care for the elderly and the disabled of America, workers and consumers must work together.

I also joined Latino Union, a member organization of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, in 2011 as a household worker organizer. In the course of that work, I crossed boundaries to co-found the multiracial Chicago Coalition of Household Workers where Asian Americans can work collectively with Latinas and African Americans in order to gain justice, dignity and respect for caregivers, housecleaners, and nannies. In a small period of time we’ve made some significant achievements.

Jane Addams, a prominent social reformer and the first American woman Nobel Peace Prize awardee, founded a settlement house called the Hull House at the turn of the century in Chicago. That House is now a museum that hosts an exhibit called “Unfinished Business: Home Economics in the 21st Century.” The exhibit honors Mary Keyser, the housekeeper of the Hull House, who worked for Jane Addams and her colleagues. A saying of our movement is painted in big letters on the wall of the exhibit: “The Work that Makes All Work Possible". One of the artifacts in the exhibit is my “freedom notebook,” a journal of the difficult tasks of caregiving. It stands for my strong desire to set my mind free and to lift my spirit from a prison-like situation to organize domestic workers, build a movement, and make change. It is with this resolve that I carry on with me the vision of a caring society where workers are treated equally and will no longer live on poverty wages through situations of abuse and discrimination.

Myrla Baldonado is a household worker organizer with the Latino Union of Chicago, co-founder of the Chicago Coalition of Household Workers, and a worker leader for the National Domestic Workers Alliance.

Ka Mauli o ka `Āina a he Mauli Kānaka (The Life of the Land is the Life of the People)

Mary Frances Oneha is being honored as a Champion of Change for her efforts as an AAPI Women leader.

I come from a place where every rock, mountain, tree, and valley has a name and is living, where “place” is seen as a refuge or sanctuary for spiritual renewal or regaining cultural rituals, where issues of health are inseparable from issues of land and water.  I come from a peoples born from the union of Papa, Earth Mother and Wākea, Sky Father, who understand “place” as an extended member of the family, whose land base derived their physical sustenance, and whose pursuit of self-determination has been unrelenting as a means of survival.

It is indeed an honor to be nominated as an AAPI Woman Champion of Change, but the honor is more aptly deserved for Native Hawaiian communities who are initiating their own changes within their environments to improve the well-being of their families and neighbors.  Multiple health disparities have consumed Native Hawaiians, the indigenous peoples of the State of Hawaii, for many years due to significant historical events.  We are challenged today at finding solutions which will be sustainable within communities. These solutions must address community ownership, leadership, and cultural humility.

After a decade as a nurse serving acute and critically ill children, I have spent the past 20 years committed to efforts which raise the health status of Native Hawaiians to the highest possible level from a holistic perspective.  These efforts have been most evident through teaching at a university, practicing at a large community health center (Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center), conducting community based participatory research, and most recently, serving as Chief Executive Officer of Waimanalo Health Center on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.

I have been honored to be a part of experiences and knowledge shared by community members, of stories told by those struggling to find their place, of dreams shared by kupuna (elders), of “informed consent” being about acceptance of the researchers credibility versus agreement to participate in a research project, of initiatives creating behavior change to improve the health of an `ohana (family), of Native Hawaiian employees accepted into a nursing program, of ensuring that the way knowledge is conveyed and received remains culturally intact – the challenge is to decolonize, and of the health impact supports (person, place, or thing) have on a person.  The Waimanalo Health Center is embarking on a path to integrate Native Hawaiian culture throughout its operations. This began with Board and staff support and will move to seeking community input.  It has been a long journey, and at times, I have become impatient with seeking an outcome. Much of what I do demands outcomes. For any sustainable change, I must respect the journey by chronicling, listening, and observing. This is about acknowledging their truth, providing an environment for people to grow and look deeply. It is about evolving a new awareness. It is community breathing – inhaling and exhaling – slow, at times ragged and edgy that springs forth a fresh awareness, a new plateau of thought that change begins to happen.

Mary Frances Oneha is CEO of the Waimanalo Health Center in Waimanalo, Hawaii.

No Days Off

Natalie Nakase is being honored as a Champion of Change for her efforts as an AAPI Women leader.

In September, I began working for the Los Angeles Clippers as an intern video coordinator. The duties and responsibilities are assisting our head video coordinator and our coaching staff. Each day, the video staff and I break down film of our opponents, which helps prepare our team for games, and we also pass and rebound for the players on the court. The job demands long hours, mostly watching tape, which is perfect because studying other NBA teams is the fastest way to learn the league. I am fortunate to be learning from a hard-working staff, one that also values teaching and mentoring. In the coming years, I see myself coaching on an NBA staff. In order to make this dream a reality, I am committing myself to learning something new every day. I must challenge myself, each day, to do something I fear or am reluctant to try.

I know from observing our coaches during practice that I have so much to learn; yet I couldn’t be in a better place to do so. I believe our head coach and staff, Vinney Del Negro, Bobby Ociepka, Robert Pack, Marc Iavaroni, Dave Severns, Howard Eisley, Raman Sposato, and Bob Thate are some of the hardest-working coaches in the NBA. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity they have given me. I also believe the way my parents raised me helped prepare me for an NBA environment. At a young age, I was trained to work hard every day. My dad might as well have this motto: No Days Off. He works weekends and rarely takes a vacation day. He engrained in his kids that summers were for off-season training, not for vacation. My dad is also passionate about basketball – watching and playing. Obviously, his obsession eventually became mine.

Since I was a little girl, my personality has always been to take the tougher route. I enjoy taking on challenges and never wanted to do something that was easy. The way I see it, the more difficult, the better.

After college, I played two years in the National Women's Basketball League, becoming the league’s first Asian American player. Later, I had the opportunity to play and coach professional basketball overseas in Germany. Afterward, I became the first female assistant in a professional men's league in Japan. The next year, my second in Japan, I became the first female head coach in a professional men's league.

I always tell myself, “Everything happens for a reason.” I don't believe in luck; I subscribe to the age-old saying, “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” When I was in Japan, I worked with former NBA head coach Bob Hill, who taught me to always be prepared for the next step. That is now part of my lifestyle: eyes up, ready for the next challenge. I am blessed to have discovered my passion, and also to have the ability to do it everyday. I wake up feeling grateful and enjoy every second of my work. I feel the NBA is where I belong.

It has been a humbling experience to be recognized for these accomplishments. I really hope my work has inspired young women to go after their dreams – no matter what the situation may be. The more at risk, the better! At the end of the day, I am not afraid to fail. I've failed numerous times before. It happens, but you've got to keep trying and believing in yourself. I believe I can create my own world. And I believe I can make any situation my reality.

Natalie Nakase is a video coordinator intern with the L.A. Clippers.