La Colectiva's social media campaign raises visibility of Domestic Workers

On November 11, 2009, the New Routes to Community Health project, Domestic Workers Safety and Dignity, launched a unique social media campaign to elevate respect and improve working conditions for domestic workers in the Bay Area and across the nation. Yesenia Perez, La Colectiva de Mujeres Steering Committee Member, welcomed domestic workers, supporters and the press to the campaign, entitled "Communicating Our Strengths and Our Hopes" (Comunicando poder y esperanza).

Recognizing the critical relationship between health and where and how Americans live, work and play, the project includes a strong call to action for all who employ household workers to use environmentally safe products that protect both the health of domestic workers and the families they serve. The campaign was designed by immigrants working with a local ad agency to transform the perception of the domestic workers among employers.

La Colectiva, a group of workers organized by La Raza Centro Legal in San Francisco, has spent the past year collaborating with the Labor Occupational Health Program at University of California, Berkeley, and Underground Advertising to create a campaign that includes advertisements, posters, postcards, bus sides, brochures and a Web site: www.lacolectivasf.org.

Video recorded and produced by Bill Carpenter. Shared with permission.

Tags: domestic workers
Topics: Community Media, Economics, Ethnic Media, Immigrants, Work
New Routes Project: Domestic Worker Safety & Dignity Project

© 2009, Bill Carpenter, All Rights Reserved.