Solidarity in Action

Many of Mexico's domestic workers experience abuse and exploitation regularly.

This is the story of how they came together to take on exploitative bosses and change 2.4 million lives.

Estela became a domestic worker at 13.

Wanting to help provide for her family, she tagged along with her mother. Ever since, she's put in long hours for low pay to keep Mexico City's better-off families running.

On any given day, she can be a cook, a gardener, a babysitter, a teacher, or a cleaner. There's no question that she's an essential worker.

But Estela often feels like a second-class citizen.

She says, "Employers discriminate against us a lot. They say inappropriate things to me. Things that I have never heard elsewhere. Just because I am a domestic worker, they want to treat me however they want."

Due to the high demands of the job, many workers are unable to continue with their education. That means they have a hard time finding better work.

Nancy is also used to waking up every morning to poor working conditions.

She came from Colombia as a teenager to support her family in Mexico's capital. The journey was difficult, but work was more plentiful.

But that opportunity can come at a price.

She says, "I know workers who have been sexually abused and even imprisoned by employers. They are encouraged to travel, lied to and, when they arrive, employers do not let them out.

"Society teaches us, and everyone, that abuse like this is normal. But it is not normal."

Estela and Nancy know their value as workers, as women, as human beings. They aren't putting up with exploitation any longer.

Estela became a domestic worker at 13.

Wanting to help provide for her family, she tagged along with her mother. Ever since, she's put in long hours for low pay to keep Mexico City's better-off families running.

On any given day, she can be a cook, a gardener, a babysitter, a teacher, or a cleaner. There's no question that she's an essential worker.

But Estela often feels like a second-class citizen.

She says, "Employers discriminate against us a lot. They say inappropriate things to me. Things that I have never heard elsewhere. Just because I am a domestic worker, they want to treat me however they want."

Due to the high demands of the job, many workers are unable to continue with their education. That means they have a hard time finding better work.

Nancy is also used to waking up every morning to poor working conditions.

She came from Colombia as a teenager to support her family in Mexico's capital. The journey was difficult, but work was more plentiful.

But that opportunity can come at a price.

She says, "I know workers who have been sexually abused and even imprisoned by employers. They are encouraged to travel, lied to and, when they arrive, employers do not let them out.

"Society teaches us, and everyone, that abuse like this is normal. But it is not normal."

Estela and Nancy know their value as workers, as women, as human beings. They aren't putting up with exploitation any longer.

The discrimination and abuse that Estela, Nancy, and so many other domestic workers face is compounded by poor legal protections.

Many jobs in the Global North come with contracts, health and safety regulations, and laws in place preventing bosses from abusive and exploitative practices.

Things aren't perfect, but progress has been made.

That progress was often won through the collective struggle of trade unions and grassroots movements made up of workers just like Estela and Nancy.

With time, effort, and bucketloads of solidarity, the battle for workers' rights can be won.

Until recently, domestic workers in Mexico had no minimum wage, no paid leave, and few had proper contracts.

Many workers can be dismissed from a job without adequate notice at the whim of an employer.

This leaves them with no income if they can't find another domestic job quickly. That's wrong, and it's a violation of basic workers' rights.

Estela and Nancy knew they deserved better. And other domestic workers did too.

But union leaders and activists need resources to be able to campaign and win.

That's where we come in - we're the Fund for Global Human Rights.

We identify and invest in the world’s most innovative and effective labor and human rights activists in Mexico and beyond.

Thanks to generous supporters like you, we were able to help domestic workers like Estela and Nancy secure their rights.

But only thanks to the courageous activism of one woman--Marcelina.

The discrimination and abuse that Estela, Nancy, and so many other domestic workers face is compounded by poor legal protections."

Many jobs in the global north come with contracts, health and safety regulations, and laws in place preventing bosses from abusive and exploitative practices.

Things aren't perfect, but progress has been made.

That progress was often won through the collective struggle of trade unions and grassroots movements made up of workers just like Estela and Nancy.

With time, effort, and bucketloads of solidarity, the battle for workers' rights can be won.

Until recently, domestic workers in Mexico had no minimum wage, no paid leave, and few had proper contracts.

Many workers can be dismissed from a job without adequate notice on the whim of an employer.

This leaves them with no income if they can't find another domestic job quickly. That's wrong, and it's a violation of basic workers' rights.

Estela and Nancy knew they deserved better. And other domestic workers did too.

But union leaders and activists need resources to be able to campaign and win.

That's where we come in - we're the Fund for Global Human Rights.

We identify and invest in the world’s most innovative and effective labor and human rights activists in Mexico and beyond.

Thanks to generous supporters like you, we were able to help domestic workers like Estela and Nancy secure their rights.

But only thanks to the courageous activism of one woman--Marcelina.

In 2000, Marcelina Bautista founded CACEH, Mexico's first ever union for domestic workers.

Having been a domestic worker since the age of 14, she knew firsthand the challenges and inequalities her colleagues faced.

Her determination to improve the working conditions and wellbeing of Mexico's domestic workers was unmatched.

With the support of donors to the Fund for Global Human Rights, Marcelina and her small team campaigned tirelessly for reform.

She recruited new members and built CACEH into a more powerful union. She met with political leaders and took on lobbyists backed by the wealthy.

Pressure for change was building.

But what happened next?