Direct Care Alliance Partners with NDWA
The Direct Care Alliance (DCA) has taken up residence at the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) as of March.
The DCA, the national advocacy voice of direct-care workers for nearly 10 years, officially closed its doors last June due to a funding shortage. Facing closure, the direct-care workers’ association had said from the start that its board would be speaking with other organizations about “possible partnerships in hopes of finding a new home for our members and supporters.”
The group did find a home with the NDWA, the nation’s leading voice for dignity and fairness for the millions of domestic workers in the United States, most of whom are women. NDWA is headed up by Ai-jen Poo, a 2014 recipient of the esteemed MacArthur Fellowship.
In an email issued this week to announce the acquisition agreement, Poo said that members and allies of the DCA would be “joining forces” to “make sure the voices of direct-care workers are too loud to be ignored.”
“At the top of our agenda is ending the shameful exclusion of home care workers from the right to minimum wage and overtime pay,” Poo writes.
The NDWA website states that the organization is “thrilled to welcome DCA into our movement,” adding that DCA has “been in the forefront of raising the voices of direct-care workers for over a decade.” The site also asks DCA members to complete a survey about its commitment to continue to fight for higher wages and labor protections for home care workers.
A blog post by Tracy Dudzinski, former DCA board chair, explains why the NDWA was the right fit for the direct-care workers association.
— by Deane Beebe
