by VFM
There are frontlines that are behind the scenes. And there are workers on those unseen frontlines, who day in and day out, are also fighting the battle against COVID-19. Home care workers are some of those who are doing this work in private homes, in non-hospital settings, in residential care facilities. They, too, are in need of personal protective equipment (PPE). They, too, are … Read More Filipino Home Care Workers, Unseen Frontliners
by VFM
Two full weeks has passed since the “shelter in place” mandate was passed in the San Francisco/Bay Area. And we are all learning. My partner and I are working from home and have full-time work expectations that we must carry out while we juggle the care and learning of our 5 and 3 year old children. Some days are/were smooth and some days were … Read More Care in the Time of Corona
+ Domestic Workers, Filipino diaspora, Filipino migrant workers, Immigration, labor of care, Technology, Transnational Family
by VFM
A centerpiece of my book The Labor of Care is the chapter called “Skype Mothers and Facebook Children”. In it, I look at how care work and intimacy between transnational family members is shaped by information communication technologies (ICTs), specifically, Skype and Facebook during the time I was collecting research in the 2000s. In the chapter, I argue that new care providers, patterns of … Read More Together But Apart: Virtual Connection in the time of Corona
by VFM
Professor Mary Margaret Fonow has invited an amazing set of scholars to talk about gender, labor and migration at Arizona State University’s School of Social Transformation. And I couldn’t be more excited to speak and participate about Filipina migrant activism and its connections to the vibrant national liberation movement in the Philippines. I’m looking forward to learning from the scholars and students at the … Read More Phoenix, here I come!
+ caregivers, Domestic Workers, Filipino migrant workers, GABRIELA, labor of care, Migrant Worker Organizing, Research, Sociological Imagination, Sociologizing
by VFM
The first month of the year hasn’t ended yet and I’ve been to three universities, delivered a handful of talks from classrooms, speaker series events, seminars and community centers! I love that touring The Labor of Care allows me to talk about transnational families, possibilities of organizing with migrants, emotions and youth, technology and solidarity and resistance. I’ve been humbled to be able to have an … Read More Montreal and Irvine, Snow and Sun
+ Action, Dissertation, Diwang Pinay, Domestic Workers, Filipino migrant workers, FiRE-NYC, GABRIELA, Immigration, People Power, Philippines, Power, Research, Research methods, Sociological Imagination, Women
by VFM
In 2009, I had the privilege of being part of a dynamic group of people that did research, wrote and acted in a play and built very strong basis for community-building and migrant worker organizing in New York City. That year, Diwang Pinay as a theatrical production was the first and most impactful way we shared our process. Years later, as the play continues … Read More Diwang Pinay for academics
+ caregivers, Domestic Workers, Filipino migrant workers, GABRIELA, Immigration, Nurses, People Power, Politics, Trafficked workers
by VFM
What is May 1? Four days before Cinco de Mayo. The day after April 30. AND, International Workers Day all over the globe. Whatever you need to do to remember it, do it. In the US, May 1 has also doubled for Immigrants/Workers Day. A kasama once said, “It’s like Christmas for workers.” Its the day folks come out to celebrate the fact that … Read More Why May 1 Matters
by VFM
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/33424/aquino-signs-ilo-convention-to-protect-domestic-workers-rights “The committee is chaired by Sen. Loren Legarda. We must act fast if we want the Philippines to be the second state party of the ILO to ratify the convention, next to Uruguay, (although Uruguay has not deposited yet the ratification instrument with the ILO) … The convention requires at least two ratifications to enter into force,” Sana said. … The new ILO … Read More
by VFM
A great, quick read on domestic workers’ legislative struggle. === Domestic Workers Look to Extend Gains By Matthew Cunningham-Cook Labor Notes March 13, 2012 http://labornotes.org/2012/03/domestic-workers-look-extend-gains For 76 years domestic workers have been excluded from federal labor law – from overtime and safety and health protections in addition to collective bargaining rights. The exclusion was no accident. When Congress debated the National Labor Relations Act … Read More Domestic Workers Look to Extend Gains
by VFM
Talk of technology was in every interview, group interview, gathering, observation (you name it) of my dissertation. It was really awesome to see how Filipino women in the middle of their life course, women who didn’t grow up with computers much less knew how to do work on one, pushed themselves to learn new technologies to keep their families together. This talk is about … Read More Me, my dissertation at USF
+ caregivers, Domestic Workers, Filipino migrant workers, Immigration, Poetry, Politics, Power, Sociologizing
by VFM
One Sunday afternoon when I was 15 years old, I went to visit my father who was working as a caregiver. He was a live-in caregiver with 5 elderly patients, one of them non-ambulatory. He worked 6 days a week, and because he lived in the facility, I can only imagine, he worked 24 hours a day. He’d been in the US for over … Read More Who Cares for Caregivers?
by VFM
The erstwhile president of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, launched a domestic worker training program called, the “Supermaid” (or “Supernanny”) Program in 2006 to increase the professionalization of Filipino women leaving the country as domestics. The program teaches Filipino women things like seven ways to cook eggs or how to change a diaper with speed and precision. The Supermaid Program prides itself with shipping … Read More What’s so Super About Being a Maid? The Philippine’s Supermaid Program and Women’s False Empowerment
