Below, check out videos & transcriptions of domestic workers speaking to Seattle City Council members about the need for a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights on Thursday, March 15!
Transcription:
Hey! My name is Ty Messiah, I'm a nanny in Ballard, and I'm going to give a quick testimony of my story ... I have been nannying for about going on three years now, and currently I'm with a family who gives me all of the benefits that I need. It's really great, they're very understanding, they're very nice - but I have definitely been on the other side of the spectrum.
I was with a family that was paying me bare minimum, I didn't have any benefits, I didn't have any paid time off, I didn't have any sick leave or anything like that. And at the time, I didn't realize that that wasn't normal - I didn't realize that, hey, I should have insurance, I should have paid sick time off and whatnot. It wasn't until I started nannying for this family in Ballard that I realized, wow - I was really lacking a lot of rights that I deserve as a worker here in Washington.
And now that I am with a family that gives me everything that I need, I would like to fight on behalf of all the other nannies and domestic workers that were going through the same exact thing that I was going through - not even getting paid the full amount of hours that I was working, not getting any sick time off, not really getting anything. It seemed like I cared so much about raising these kids and being interconnected with this family and making sure that everything in their home was running okay, but it didn't really seem like they cared what I had going on at all. So I'm here to fight for that. Thank you.
Transcription:
Mi nombre es Etelbina Hauser. Soy de la Nacionalidad Hondureña y soy Garifuna. Estoy aquí representando a todas las trabajadoras del hogar y desirles que merecen los mismos derechos como cualquier otro trabajador, aunque sean trabajadores casuales o de tiempo parcial.
Merecemos el derecho a un salario mínimo y digno, Merecemos el derecho a protecciones de horas extras porque deben de pagarnos por todas las horas que trabajamos. Merecemos el derecho de días de enfermedad pagados porque merecemos tiempo pagado. También merecemos el derecho de trabajar libre de discriminación o acoso en nuestro lugar de trabajo.
He trabajado en limpieza de casa y como cuidadora de personas en el hogar por 17 años. Sufrí de abuso físico y sexual desde que era niña. Pero nunca imaginé que esto seguiria pasando en mi lugar de trabajo. Como una trabajadora del hogar, especialmente en limpieza de casas, estoy aislada en esta industria.
Conocí a una pareja que solicitaban a una trabajadora que limpiara su casa una vez a la semana. Después de estar satisfechos con mi primer dia de trabajo, me pidieron venir más seguido para limpiar. Un día cuando estaba limpiando, mi empleador, un hombre, me llamó al baño para reponer el papel higiénico. Me parecía una solicitud extraña, pero lo hice. El abrió la puerta del baño desnudo, tocándose con una sonrisa malvada.
Me fui a mi casa, preocupada, decepcionada y frustrada. Llamé a su esposa para contarle sobre el incidente, para decirles que ya no seguiría trabajando para ellos, y quería mi último pago de $250. La mujer no me creyó y me colgó. Nunca recibí mi salario. Esto fue una de tres experiencias de acoso sexual que me han pasado durante mis primeras tres semanas de trabajo. En estas experiencias, los empleadores no me pagaron completo el dinero que me debian.
Como una mujer negra y Afrodescendiente , y una trabajadora, los hombres que son empleadores piensan que pueden denigrarme sexualmente por mi profesión, mi color de piel, y mi género.
Necesitamos asegurar que esto no le pase a otras. Soy parte de la Alianza de Trabajadoras del Hogar en Seattle por esta razón, para apoyar a todas los trabajadoras, y asegurar que trabajen libre de acoso sexual y discriminación racial. Mi trabajo contribuye al crecimiento de la economía de Seattle. Los derechos laborales y humanos deben de ser reconocidos.
English:
My name is Etelbina Hauser. I’m a Garifuna from Honduras. I’m here to say that domestic workers deserve the same rights as all workers, even if we work part time and casually.
We deserve the right to minimum wage because we deserve to make a living wage. We deserve the right to overtime protection because we should be paid for all hours we work. We deserve the right to paid sick leave because we have the right to paid time off. We also deserve the right to work free from discrimination or harassment in the workplace.
I’ve been a house cleaner and home care worker for 17 years. I suffered sexual and physical abuse since I was a child. But I didn’t imagine that this would continue in my workplace. As a domestic worker, especially in house cleaning, I’m isolated in this industry.
I found a couple to house clean for once a week. After that I was asked to come more regularly to clean. I worked more regularly. One day when I was cleaning, my male employer called me to the bathroom to replenish the toilet paper. I found the request strange but did it anyway. He opened the door to the bathroom naked, touching himself while maliciously smiling.
I went home, bothered and irritated. I called his wife to tell her about the incident, that I was quitting, and wanted my last check for $250. The female employer didn’t believe me and hung up. I never got paid. This was one of three sexual harassment incidents that I experienced my first three weeks of work. In all three, I had to turn to and experienced wage theft.
As a woman, a person of color, and a house cleaner, male employers think they can sexually denigrate me for my profession, skin and gender.
We need to make sure this doesn’t happen to others. I’m part of Seattle Domestic Workers Alliance for this reason to support all workers, make sure they work in a workplace free of sexual harassment and racial discrimination. My work contributes to the continued growth of Seattle’s economy. Labor rights and human rights need to be recognized.