Today is Tuesday, August 29, as I write this, and I am outside the Capitol Building in Sacramento with Jacob Lesner-Buxton. Jacob has just received news that his mother is seriously ill in Oakland, so he is leaving to be with her. We had planned to fly back and write this together in preparation for Labor Day.
Today makes me think of Selma, and other Civil Rights marches of the 1960s. We are singing “I Shall Not Be Moved,” except in Spanish, “No Nos Moveremos.” We are here to call on Governor Newsom to sign Senate Bill 686, providing health and safety protections for domestic care workers.
Jacob and I are members of Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network. We are raising our voices alongside some 40 other advocacy groups today. California would not treat firefighters, police, not even teachers, and certainly not a governor like this. It is unconscionable for this disregard to go on. It’s worth noting that Newsom has previously vetoed two similar bills.