Adelphi University will host Domestic Workers United, an international coalition dedicated to promoting awareness of domestic workers rights, for a public forum, "Building a Movement to Empower Caregivers," on Monday, September 29, at 1:00 p.m. in the Ruth S. Harley University Center Ballroom, 1 South Avenue, Garden City, NY. The forum, sponsored by ICAN: Imagine Change Act Now Collaboration Project, the Department of Political Science, and the Gender Studies Program, is open to the public.

The forum will feature a number of speakers from Domestic Workers United who will share a history of domestic labor in the United States. They will discuss the impact of globalization and neoliberal policies, address the often inequitable working conditions of domestic workers, and report on the organization's current campaigns.

Domestic Workers United is a model for domestic labor organizations around the nation. The organization was instrumental in advancing New York City legislation, passed in 2003, that establishes rights for domestic workers hired through employment agencies. Their advocacy continues on the state level, where the proposed Domestic Workers Bill of Rights would guarantee basic benefits, rights, and protections for the statewide domestic workforce, a sector otherwise excluded from the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act.

Domestic Workers United was founded in 2000 as a collaborative project between members of the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence (CAAAV) and Andolan Organizing South Asian Workers. Today, the organization represents nannies, housekeepers, and elderly caregivers employed in New York State from the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa. The coalition provides legal representation, winning over $300,000 in unpaid wages since 2000, and has designed a basic domestic worker contract to be utilized by employers. They offer training courses, including English as a second language, basic computer literacy, nanny training, and leadership training, while also organizing a network of support for the state's approximately 200,000 domestic workers.

For more information about this event, please visit http://events.adelphi.edu/ican or contact Assistant Professor Traci Levy at (516) 877-4595 or levy@adelphi.edu.