The Labor Movement of Worker Centers VS the Labor Movement of Labor Unions─ The Campaign to End New York City’s “24-hour Workday” for Female Immigrant Home Care Workers

Abstract

This article examines the campaign to end the “24-hour workday” that immigrant women home care workers and worker centers in New York have carried out. Home care workers have been fighting for years against the systemic exploitation of the “13-hour” policy that in New York State permits home care workers to be paid for just 13 hours of a 24-hour workday. Taken up by home care workers in New York who are mostly immigrants and women of color, the campaign has been fighting against racism and sexism by opposing an inhumane 24-hour workday that diminishes home care workers’ health and well-being. Campaigners have been calling on the state government and legislators to introduce legislation to split the 24-hour shift into two shifts of 12-hours and to cap the workweek at 50 hours. The article discusses differences between a labor movement of home care workers and worker centers and a labor union (1199 SEIU) movement. The article will contribute to debates on the relationship between worker centers and labor unions.