About the NDWA & We Dream in Black
New York Chapter

New York was the first state in the country to pass a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, and the NY Chapter is a home for domestic workers to enforce those rights and win new ones!

The New York Chapter lifts up the voices and experiences of New York domestic workers through organizing, storytelling, workforce development and leadership development.

We offer know your rights trainings; support for domestic workers to recover stolen wages; leadership trainings and workforce development trainings. The Chapter builds a multiracial, multilingual membership base and also houses the We Dream in Black (WeDiB) chapter to empower and develop the leadership of Black domestic workers in New York.

Our Impact

Together, we have accomplished so much! The Chapter has won:

A Division of Paid Care in the NYC’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection

Added protections for domestic workers against sexual harassment at the NYC and NY state level.

Inclusion of domestic workers in the first of its kind Paid Safe and Sick Leave in NYC, and then extending sick days for domestic workers for a total of 5 sick days in NYC.

Inclusion in the state’s Paid Family Leave law so that domestic workers may take maternity leave or leave to care for a loved one.

And since 2016 we have recovered over $500,000 in stolen wages for domestic workers through our domestic worker specific legal clinic.

Join the New York Chapter

Are you a nanny, caregiver, or housecleaner in New York who believes you deserve dignity and respect on the job? Join our community!

New York NDWA & NDWA-We Dream in Black Chapter

Activity in the New York Chapter

In the New York Chapter, we are making domestic work more just and dignified!

  • We hold multilingual membership meetings and chapter orientations on a regular basis.
  • Our We Rise Training Program develops workers to become Certified Peer Trainers and offers a comprehensive nanny training program through the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
  • Our Groundbreaker Labor Enforcement Program trains worker leaders to educate fellow workers and help them file wage theft claims.
  • The Safe Just Clean training program is a peer led training for house cleaners to understand chemical safety and learn safer cleaning methods.
  • Peer led organizing from our campaign committees, membership committees, and many worker led meetings and outreach.
  • We’re currently fighting for domestic worker inclusion in the NYC Human Rights Law and working together with our coalition partners to raise awareness and push for just and comprehensive care infrastructure in NYC.
  • Governor Hochul missed a chance to end our state’s worst-in-the-nation home care crisis. She failed to include Fair Pay for Home Care in her executive budget. Tell Your Reps: We Need Fair Pay for Home Care NOW!
  • March 2022
    • NY organizing held its first in person outreach since before the pandemic and handed out 50 boxes of PPE for International Women’s Day.
    • NYC Domestic Work Coalition hosted a political education training to 40 workers and employers on how to give testimony in preparation for city budget hearings.
    • NYC Adams administration announced that it is expanding support for paid care workers to get back to work by giving more resources to the Division of Paid Care, outreach and education, and launching with NDWA its mediation clinic.
  • There is always so much going on in our Chapter, and we invite you to get involved!