Artists Christine Lewis, Vanessa Bretas, Annalisa Pena, Faith Harper, and Olivia Murphy collaborated with Domestic Workers United to create a zine for domestic workers, by domestic workers. A zine is similar to a magazine, but it does not have specific formatting and often serves a political and/or artistic purpose. This project served as a vehicle to distribute mutual aid and to give domestic workers a space to express themselves and speak their truth. The artists organized meetings to collect physical and digital submissions from DWU members, paying them $100 per submission. They received submissions from domestic workers all over New York as well as from worker rights organizations and other activists who participated in the project. Through the zine and other events held by DWU, they were able to distribute around $70,000 in mutual aid directly to domestic workers. The zine turned into a 150 page book, serving as an artistic addition to DWU’s long and radical history of the power, tribulations, triumph, and lived experience of domestic workers.

Domestic Workers United is a Black-immigrant-led, grassroots racial justice organization of Caribbean, African, and Latinx domestic workers building power, demanding respect for domestic work, establishing and enforcing fair labor standards in our industry, and helping to build a movement to end exploitation and oppression for all.