On Saturday I went to see a special performance of Exit Cuckoo, a one-woman show by Lisa Ramirez. Ramirez tells her story of moving to New York and becoming a nanny (while trying to get her break as an actor). Besides playing herself, she also plays the roles of multiple people she has met along the way: wealthy and busy mothers (from snooty to depressed); and the mostly immigrant nannies who step in to take on child-rearing responsibilities (characters you can meet on a stroll through Prospect Park or Central Park on any weekday). Ramirez donated this performance to the efforts of Domestic Workers United (DWU).
What I appreciated most about the play was that it used an entertaining and personal format to bring some important and widespread social issues to light—and highlighted a line of work that is largely ignored even though there are an estimated 200,000 nannies in the New York City area. Ramirez touched on how jobs advertised as “child care” often come to include cooking, cleaning, and doing the laundry. How the work hours are extended or cut without prior notice from employers and with little to no respect for nannies’ personal lives. How so many nannies have children of their own who they have not seen for years because they are trying to support them by sending money home. How employers often do not know anything about the nanny herself, even if they tell her she’s “part of the family” and even after she gives their children love and teaches them to recite the alphabet and tie their shoes. How racism plays into the hiring and firing of nannies and the way nanny agencies are run.
After the performance, members and leaders of DWU spoke about how some of these issues can be addressed. The organization’s main campaign right now is to get the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights passed as part of New York state legislation. The Bill of Rights would require the employers of nannies, housekeepers, and other home-based caregivers to adhere to certain labor standards, including providing a living wage and overtime pay; allowing for sick days, vacation days, and medical leave; and giving advance notice and severance pay upon termination. For more information and to get involved, see Domestic Workers United or the supporting organization Immigrant Justice Solidarity Project.
