Sheila Bapat is an attorney and writer covering economic and gender justice. Her work has appeared in Jacobin, Salon, Reuters, Slate, Alternet, Truthout, the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Labor and Employment Law, PolicyMatters, and the Center for Women Policy Studies' series, "Reproductive Laws for the 21st Century." Her article about the US domestic workers' movement is forthcoming in The Believer magazine. Sheila holds a JD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law.
Organizing in Georgia and Illinois shows that the domestic workers’ movement is not exclusive to predictable blue states.
Having failed in 2012, there is a renewed campaign in California for a domestic workers’ bill of rights. And like 2012, it is unclear whether the disability community will support the legislation.
This Women’s History Month, it’s important to recognize thought leadership from feminists like Gloria Steinem, Audre Lorde, and Selma James that has demonstrably influenced current feminist policy efforts.
Restaurant workers, half of whom are women, are among the lowest earning workers in the United States. But one Michigan company, Zingerman’s, is moving toward a “thriveable wage” for its restaurant workers.
It’s hard for some of us to view models as “workers” in the way labor rights advocates understand the term, but working conditions in the fashion industry indicate a need to organize.
This week nearly 100 domestic workers traveled to Washington, DC to meet with legislators about why immigration reform matters for their lives, and why they ought to be part of the immigration reform agenda.
Scrappy advocates representing domestic workers throughout the country may be realizing victories of even deeper significance than a person holding a politically-appointed position ever could.
The narrative of the American worker, and by extension women’s economic status, continues to take a troubling turn in the United States, with the decline of stable public-sector positions as well as weakening labor unions.
Some of the most vehement opponents of abortion are also against economic policies that can help struggling families, like paid family leave.
Who could fill Solis’s shoes and demonstrably make progress on policies impacting vulnerable workers?
