Collection Guide
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Inventory of the Household Workers' Rights Records, 1982 - 1985 (continuing)
1987/005
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Table of contents
Title: Household Workers' Rights Records,
Date (inclusive): 1982 - 1985 (continuing)
Accession number: 1987/005
Creator:
Household Workers' Rights
Extent: .5 cubic feet
Repository:
San Francisco State University. Labor Archives & Research Center
San Francisco, California 94132
Shelf location: For current information on the location of these
materials, please consult the Center's online catalog.
Language:
English.
Collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Labor Archives & Research Center. All requests for
permission to publish or quote from materials must be submitted in writing
to the Director of the Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf
of the Labor Archives & Research Center as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be
obtained by the reader.
[Identification of item], Household Workers' Rights Records, 1987/005, Labor Archives & Research Center,
San Francisco State University.
Industrial Welfare Commission - health
Maupin, Joyce - housekeeping
minimum wage
minority women
non-toxic cleaning
sexual harassment
women
The files of the Household Workers' Rights were placed in the Labor Archives and Research Center in January 1987 by Joyce
Maupin the main staff person. The group is a Bay Area non-profit women's association.
Household Workers' Rights was organized March 1979 by employee members of the Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Board # 15.
In 1976, the IWC had first covered household workers with benefits such as lunch breaks, overtime pay, and reporting time
pay (household worker reports to place of employment but is locked out and thus unable to work.) Because of the nature and
isolation of household work, law enforcement was problematic. Household Wrokers' Rights, originally a Union WAGE project,
attempted to alleviate some of the problems which were faced by the workers, mostly women and two-thirds of them minority
women.
Their first program had three points emphasizing legal rights: 1) to get employment agencies to advise workers and employers
of laws; 2) to provide legal assistance to workers when necessary; and 3) to draw up contracts which could be presented at
the time of hire. This contract included legal requirements of Wage Order # 15, sick leave, vacation pay and holiday pay.
When Union WAGE disbanded in 1982, Household Workers' Rights continued on its own. In January 1984, Household Workers' Rights
became a membership organization with an elected board and member participation in the decision making. At that time the group
organized an employment referral service. A non-toxic environmental housecleaning service was offered, in addition to sponsoring
conferences, compiling a chart in Sanish and English on alternative non-toxic clearners and conducting workshops on non-toxic
cleaning. At the time of this writing (June 1987), a newsletter is being published every two months.
In January 1986, the group divided due to financial problems and ideological differences. Only a small number of women, operating
out of an office in Berkeley, continued to concern themselves with a non-toxic cleaning service, putting out the newsletter
and maintaining a referral service.
In addition to Joyce Maupin, who has done much of the organizing, fundraising and work on the newsletter, Regina Ryerson has
been the group's non-toxic expert and Lucia Diaz has been responsible for Spanish outreach and translation.
These files reflect the concerns of Household Workers' Rights. The questionnaire, modeled after a survey by the Women's Occupational
Health Resource Center in New York, delves into the specific problems faced by household workers. Information includes womens'
ages, their children's ages, childcare concerns, length of time household work has been performed and other jobs held. Using
diagrams of the human body on which to point out health concerns, this survey inquires about job injuries, aches and skin
problems. Other subjects mentioned are flu, depression, over-tiredness, medical insurance and sexual harassment. There are
170 responses to this 1982 survey; 40 of which are in Spanish.
In the newsletters, information is given regarding household workers in other countries, alternative non-toxic cleaners, the
minimum wage hearings and legal aspects relating to household workers. One issue (April 1983), contains a sample contract.
In 1986, the newsletter title changed from
Household Workers' Rights, to
Housecleaners News, a reflection of an organizational division.
The inactive registration forms record information for the referral service. This information includes names (which researchers
are required to keep anonymous), type of work, and desired pay, additional skills such as CPR or animal care, whether the
applicants speak English, whether they have transportation and how far they would travel, what pet peeves and problems they
encounter in household work and whether they are aware of their rights.
Nineteen photographs from the early 1980's have been removed and placed in the Archive's photograph collection. Subjects include:
the Union WAGE ten year celebration; organizational meetings and parties; a February 1984 meeting with Debra Dadd, author
of a book on non-toxic alternatives; a demonstration at Oakland City Hall; the Bay Area Labor Theatre; and a Black Repertory
benefit.
Union WAGE, Labor Archives & Research Center, SFSU