LAKEWOOD – Around 60 domestic workers and their supporters gathered last week at the Town Square to protest wage theft, extensive work shifts, lack of personal and sick days off, low pay and sexual harassment.
“We are women, not machines,” they chanted in unison at the march, organized by the New Jersey workers advocacy group, New Labor.
“Workers came together, and they made the collective decision that they need to be making at least $20 an hour and have respect in their workplace, not cleaning on their knees,” said Louis Kimmel, New Labor executive director.
There are two types of domestic worker in Lakewood: those who live in their own homes and those who live in the homes of their employers.
Most domestic workers in Lakewood work 40 to 50 hours a week with wages ranging from $13 to $18 an hour. While many workers who live in their employers' homes work no less than 72 hours a week for $6 or less an hour, according to Claudia Martinez, domestic workers' committee leader at New Labor.
The national average pay for domestic workers is $12 an hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The New Jersey Department of Labor does not keep statistics on the average wage for domestic workers in the state.
“Rents have gone up. Everything has gotten more expensive after the pandemic. We need $20 an hour so we can subsist,” Martinez said.
In the past 17 years, Martinez said she has not been able to take vacation days. She was only off for a few days in 2017, when her employer...
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