Students from Keedra Gibba’s English class at Fieldston Middle School in New York City wrote to IndyKids to share their thoughts on the article ‘Domestic Workers Fight for Their Rights’ from the November 2012 issue of IndyKids. Here are a few of their letters:
“I never knew about this issue. I never even thought about how these workers were treated, because their voices are silenced. I like Jennifer Barrera’s point of view about how it shouldn’t go all out, because it will make working class family worry more about. I also think that there does have to be a change in how these workers are treated.” —Jeremy
“I did not know that domestic workers were being abused in this way. Such as not giving domestic workers days off or hiring workers that they know are not citizens. I think that it is amazing that children are standing up for their babysitters and housekeepers.” —Whitney
” I have a babysitter who takes care of my little siblings, but I didn’t know that babysitters and nannies and house cleaners were treated so poorly! It makes me wonder why a law for domestic workers’ rights would be vetoed! Thanks for letting me know!” —Megan
“I see both perspectives but I agree that care-givers or nannies need to be treated better. A lot of nannies spend more time with the children than the parents, so they should be paid and treated well by the parents for helping them raise and take care of their children. Many nannies are the ones who take care of the children when they’re sick, and its ridiculous for them to not be paid when they stay home because they caught the children’s sickness.” —Dani
“Before I read this article, I didn’t know anything about the Domestic Worker’s Bill of Rights. I didn’t know that there wasn’t already something that was protecting babysitters, housekeepers, etc. I knew that some people weren’t treated fairly but I also thought that they were supposed to be treated fairly. I thought that there must have been a law or rights that would help these people who need rights too.” —Hannah
“I think that it is important that kids get involved in the movement and help to pass the bill because the kids are the ones who know their nannies or babysitters and the ones who spend time with them. Babysitters provide care and another loving person to be with, and if they aren’t payed fairly soon, then babysitters would keep protesting and young kids wouldn’t have anyone to take care of them during the day.” —Cormac
