Coming together: domestic workers use art to raise awareness for paid leave

Art can be a powerful tool when movement building. Not only is art a form of expression, but it can tell a story that resonates in a powerful way for different audiences. The California Domestic Workers Coalitionand Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network know this to be true and recently utilized art in their campaign for the right to paid sick leave for domestic workers in San Francisco.  

While San Francisco law has long held that all employees are eligible for an hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked, domestic workers —because they have up to dozens of different employers at once — traditionally had a difficult time using paid leave when they got sick.   

That’s why in 2021, San Francisco passed an ordinance called Domestic Workers’ Equal Access to Paid Sick Leave. It established a portable program for all San Francisco domestic workers to help collect paid sick leave from multiple employers. Due to funding and technical barriers, creation of the app has been paused, but the need for domestic employer and worker education about the right to paid sick leave is as important as ever.   

Recently, more than 50 domestic workers and employers gathered in San Francisco to create art pieces to raise awareness of this right. The coalition worked with artist Melanie Cervantes to create a culturally responsive and informative design — which was then screen printed on site. Each person had the ability to decorate their design in a way unique to them. 

“This moment really is calling for people’s spirit to be fed,” Cervantes said. “I think what cultural work lets us do, and what creative expression lets us do, is break out of the freeze and reconnect with our power.”  

Cervantes has had a longstanding relationship with the coalition. Along with artist Jesus Barraza, about a decade ago she created the California Domestic Workers Coalition logo — a colorful and vibrant expression of the strength of this work. Cervantes said she does a lot of this work in honor of her grandmother, who was a domestic worker in the Bay Area.  

“I just imagine all the struggles she had being isolated inside of a home, working for an employer, and I don’t even know what laws were on the books then. I’m sure there was a lot of opportunity to be exploited,” she said. “When I hear about how women are being empowered to know their rights that exist but also create new ones by changing laws, advocating and organizing, I just feel so enlivened.” 

Kimberly Alvarenga, director of the coalition, said the strength of their membership is constantly a source of inspiration for her. Even during fearful political times, coalition members wanted to be together in person. 

“No matter what is happening in the world or in [the coalition members’] lives, they continue to advance their families and their communities without fear,” she said. “There is nothing that is happening in the world that is going to stop us from continuing to bring our membership together and advance the rights and the dignity of domestic workers.”  

Hand in Hand: the Domestic Employers Network is a member of the coalition and organizes employers of nannies, house cleaners, and home care providers. They support employers and workers to show up together in what California Director Lindsay Imai Hong says is a movement that centers love.   

“People like coming together in this movement,” she said. “They share values of dignity for everyone, shared leadership, and a commitment to understanding each other’s struggles.”

Check out the video to learn more: