America's Most Invisible Workforce Is The One We Need The Most

Ai-jen Poo: It's Time To Stop Treating Caregivers Like Second-Class Workers
Ai-jen Poo, director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, testifies at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on immigrant women and immigration reform on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, March 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Ai-jen Poo, director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, testifies at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on immigrant women and immigration reform on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, March 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

I started organizing domestic workers 16 years ago. I signed up nannies, housekeepers and home health aides at parks and train stations as they quietly took care of our children, our households and our elders. Many of them had no clue about labor laws or their rights as workers – they struggled to make ends meet with extremely low pay and no benefits – but they performed their jobs with dedication and took care of our loved ones with pride, dignity and grace.

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