Download Zhang Yan Zhang Dana Murphy Writing 39C 24 January 2014 The

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Yan Zhang
Dana Murphy
Writing 39C
24 January 2014
The Unseen Slaves of Domestic Work
For many, immigration to the United States symbolizes the beginning of a new life and
fulfillment of grand dreams. While some are able to find success with good-paying occupations,
there are others who are anchored to undocumented jobs, such as domestic work, which has
become an extremely controversial topic in the global economy. A domestic worker is a person
hired to work in their employer’s home and is responsible for completing household chores.
With American women’s advancement in the work force and absence from completing
housework, a door opens for migrant women in
Thirld World countries who are eager to earn
higher income. The opportunity may sound too
good to pass, but the actual reality of it is similar
to the photograph (to the right); what comes
along with the job as a domestic worker are not
only exploitation and various forms of abuse, but also societal humility and violation of rights.
Nancy Zarate Byrd, author of the article, “The Dirty Side of Domestic Work: An
Underground Economy and the Exploitation of Undocumented Workers”, shows domestic
workers employed in middle and upper-class American households are usually hired based on
their culture, race, gender, ethnicity, and class status. Their “socio-economic and undocumented
status” make them terrifyingly vulnerable in facing discrimination and harsh working conditions,
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but they have yet to have minimal protection of the law (Byrd, 246). Despite the established laws
on labor, protection fails to reach undocumented domestic workers. This is an issue that needs to
be resolved. Domestic work should be considered an actual job and workers, especially
undocumented workers, should not be denied, but granted, the protection of labor laws.
Historically, women were continuously oppressed because of their gender. Even in 21st century
America, women are still chained to the origins of domestic labor and facing improper and
illegal work contracts. I argue, the enforcement of labor laws and advocation of organizational
campaigns in America will not only provide protection for undocumented domestic workers, but
also find a remedy to fully cure the long-term issues immigrant women endure in the face of
globalization.
It has been known throughout history and even in modern-day American that women
project and fulfill an image created by society and culture. Origins of domestic work for America
began in the pre-Civil War period, when the role was dominantly forced upon African-American
women slaves. The abuse inflicted on live-in domestic workers, both as slaves in the South and
non-slave servants in the North, was responsible in shaping the demeaning attitude towards
women associated with this type of work (252). “The attitude towards domestic workers in the
United States is rooted in the oppression of the African-American race; it was appropriate for
menial and degrading work to be passed along to African-American women because the women
themselves were not considered worthy of more dignified employment” (252). By the 20th
century, due to the harsh conditions of domestic labor, along with advancement in civil rights
and education, the faces of domestic labor began to shift from African-American women to
women of color from Third World countries (252). Many could argue migrant women
voluntarily choose domestic work, but what isn’t commonly known is that the polarization of
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First and Third World countries is the consequence of this global issue. The image that stems
from African-American women has traveled with history, extended to include women of other
minorities, and continued to create thorns in the lives of immigrant women. Women who have
taken the opportunity and came to advanced countries, like America, to become a domestic
worker result in labor that is unregulated and corrupted with exploitation and abuse.
Why is it common for people to so easily associate cleaning and domestic work with
women of color? It is because employers of these workers have a certain criteria for who they
hire. Often, “undocumented immigrant women hired as domestic workers are the most invisible
laborers in the United States; their status is defined by their race, gender, class, and citizenship
status, and the fact that they are not protected by current labor laws create an underground
economy” (247). Not only do employers hire undocumented women of color, they also
manipulate their workers and threaten them with the fear of deportation, ultimately leading to
forms of harsh treatment. Even if abuse is present and becomes severely physical, it is extremely
rare for immigrant domestic workers to reach out and call for help, because they are aware of the
consequences of potentially losing their job and deportation. This is evident in a case Byrd
presents in her academic journal, where Fransesca Ekka, a native from India, hired by wealthy
couple, Mr. and Mrs. Mahtani, in Miami, faces exploitation without pay and eventually, physical
abuse for seven months before calling for help. Byrd writes:
She first reached out to a family friend, [who was passive in helping, and then to the]
Mahtani children’s school bus driver [who said he couldn’t help] but directed her to call
the police… The Mahtanis pled guilty into voluntary servitude, inducing to reside in the
United States illegally, and harboring her in violating immigrations laws (265).
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This example illustrates the ignorance of society and the injustice of the law. Despite strong
evidence of abuse and exploitation, employers are not rightfully punished, but instead, given
light sentences and fines, while Ekka, the victim, does not even have the chance to receive the
wages she painstakingly works for. Her light of hope vanishes and the only thing she could pray
for is to avoid deportation back to India. This suggests most migrant women and undocumented
workers have little to no chance of escaping such horrible situations, and unless American
society and government proposes changes, cases like these will continue to happen beneath the
surface of society and its government.
Cases of inhumane treatment are happening not just domestically, but also globally, as
employers control their workers and essentially dictate their work and personal lives. Not only
are immigrant women commonly enduring various forms of abuse, but they also serve as an
extension of status for their employers. Nicole Constable, author of “Filipina Workers in Hong
Kong Homes: Household Rules and Regulations”, in the book, Global Women, edited by
Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Russell Hochschild, states, “timetables, dress codes, restrictions on
the use of space, and special eating arrangements, among other household rules and regulations,
do not simply control a domestic worker’s labor. They convey the employer’s sense of the
domestic worker’s inferior position, and they clarify social boundaries between employers and
domestic workers” (Ehrenreich and Hochschild, 115). This is true in the account of Cathy, a
young domestic worker described in Constable’s essay, who decides to go to Hong Kong to
“help out” in a Hong Kong family home, bound to a legal government labor contract. However,
in Cathy’s domestic life, the contract was not enforced at all, and on the contrary, had to follow
daily schedules, rules written by her employer, curfew times, and even showering schedules! The
following is only a part of the striking list of rules Cathy is forced to abide to:
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
A maid must always be polite and greet the employer, his family members,
relatives, visitors as soon as meeting them…

DO NOT use any nail polish on fingers and toes. DO NOT put on make-up… DO
NOT wear tight jeans…

Must take bath daily before going to bed. Hand wash your own clothes separately
from those of your employers and the children… (120).
In addition to long work hours and low wages, employers even control a domestic
worker’s behavior and attitude, personal appearance, and personal life. Workers are forced to
face social humility and inferiority in the households they work in. The reality is, the legal
contracts governments establishes are bogus and meaningless. Employers are still able to take
advantage of undocumented, migrant women’s economic and social status. In order to help
prevent this, we need to have governments not only pass laws and contracts, but also strictly
enforce them in order to save domestic workers.
It’s easy to understand there are severe problems in the topic of domestic workers, but it’s
even more perplexing when numbers are stated. According to a recent research the National
Domestic Workers conducted, 91 percent of workers who encountered problems with their
working conditions did not complain because they were afraid to lose their job, and likewise, 85
percent of undocumented immigrants did not complain because they feared their immigration
status would be used against them. In the same research, they also discovered that 70 percent are
paid less than $13 an hour, and 67 percent of live-in workers are paid below the state minimum
wage, with the median hourly wage of these workers being $6.15. The study also discovered
domestic workers have little to no control over their working conditions, as 35 percent of
domestic workers report that they worked long hours without breaks and 30 percent of workers
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who have written contract or other
agreement report that their employers
disregarded at least one of the provisions.
These statistics evidently show a huge
majority of domestic workers are underpaid
and overworked in harsh working
environments, where they are abused
physically and emotionally. Although there
are government laws established, not all
workers are protected, and many still face
inhumane treatment. The chart (to the right)
from the International Labour Office shows
the overall coverage of domestic workers by
national labor legislation across the world in 2010. Only 10 percent, worldwide, are fully in
protection of the law, which means 90 percent are receiving little to no protection from the
government. Even in developed countries, 88 percent of domestic workers are not shielded by
the existing labor laws. The American government, along with other governments around the
world, are not giving sufficient attention to this issue at hand. This is another national and global
problem concerning women and worker rights that should be addressed immediately and
promptly. However, in order to get the attention and full interest of the government, society and
it’s people need to be the catalyst to help raise awareness, but for them to do so, we need to first
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fully understand the horror domestic workers live in. The most intimate and impactful way is for
these workers to step out from their shadows and let their voices be heard, but for them to do so,
they need society’s and organizations’ help. This picture (to the
left), conveys the positions of the domestic workers working in
our hidden economy. Their eyes are clearly filled with hurt and
pain and they want to scream, “we are workers, not slaves”, for
the world to hear, but their voices are silenced by the dire
consequences they know they will result in. Anna Blackshaw, author of, “Swept Under the Rug:
Ai-jen Poo and the Plight of Domestic Workers”, displays in her interview with Ai-jen Poo, the
executive director of the national Domestic Workers Alliance, the emphasis of “the changing
face of the labor movement and the prospects for a more just economy” (Blackshaw). In this
section of the interview, the two touches on the idea of social movement:
Blackshaw: You have said that if people themselves are not transformed by social
movements, then institutional reforms will not hold.
Poo: Yes. The experience of speaking out and asserting pride in their work… has
powerfully affected many of our members… The women talked about their experiences
and what legal protections they needed. Afterward one of them told me that it was the
first time she ever felt she had a voice in this country… When we experience injustice as
individuals, we often contract and become cynical. Rather than think about solutions, we
focus on whom or what we can still protect. But when we come together and share our
stories, it expands our notion of what’s possible. It changes the person telling the story, it
changes whoever is listening to the story, and it changes how we understand our own
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story… Workers who were once afraid to speak in a general meeting get up in front of
thousands to demand a safe and just workplace.
It is with the help of organizations, like the National Domestic Workers Alliance, that domestic
workers can proudly raise their voices. Society needs to see their through their invisibility and
reach out their hands. This way, organizational campaigns could be initiated to raise awareness,
and ultimately gain the attention of the government so they could better pass and enforce labor
laws. From this, a steady foundation of proposition and development can evolve into global
change.
The stable power of the government and influence of organizational campaigns in
America are able to help confront the dehumanizing treatment domestic workers face, and also
pave a safer, more dignified path that free them from the chains of culture and society. A
worker’s citizenship status is the only thing keeping an undocumented worker from reporting
abuse and exploitation. The status of a worker serves as a symbol of status for the employer and
thus, they are treated harshly and with no respect and dignity. There are many ways to help end
this global problem, but to resolve this, action is needed from the government, society, and the
workers themselves. If we do not embrace the importance of women and domestic work, there
will be no termination to the inhumane nature of domestic work. Immigration should be a
symbol of a fresh, new start and not an ordeal of despair. There are severe problems tied to
undocumented domestic work, and to stop it, we need to bring forces together and confront them.
Let’s not turn a blind eye, but acknowledge the problem that our society has created. Let us not
ignore and be a silent accomplice, but extend our hands to an issue we can help resolve. Let us
not be ignorant, but mindful, and help wake our workers up from the nightmares that torment
their lives.
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Works Cited
Blackshaw, Anna. "The Sun Magazine | Swept Under The Rug." The Sun Magazine | Swept Under The
Rug. N.p., May 2013. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.
Byrd, Nancy Z. " The Dirty Side of Domestic Work: An Underground Economy and the Exploitation of
Undocumented Workers." DePaul Journal for Social Justice (2010): 245-276. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.
Inernational Labour Office. “Domestic workers across the world: Global and regional statistics and the
extent of legal protection”. International Labour Organization (2013). Web. 26 Jan. 2014
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. New Protections for Migrant Domestic Workers Adopted at the
UN. 2010. Oblates JPIC, Washington, DC. Omiusajpic.org. Web. 25 Jan. 2014.
National Domestic Workers Alliance. “Home Economics: The Invisible and Unregulated World of
Domestic Work." National Domestic Workers Alliance (2013). Web. 20 Jan. 2014.
Trishna, Ma Deva. Human Trafficking. 2013. Mother Trishna, Cambodia. Mothertrishna.org. Web. 25
Jan. 2014.