FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 5, 2022
CONTACT: Summer Kim [email protected]
Care in Action and Domestic Worker Leaders Announce New Nevada Endorsements
LAS VEGAS – Care in Action, which endorsed Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and Lieutenant Governor Lisa Cano Burkhead last month, today endorsed the campaigns of Nevada Assemblywomen Selena Torres (AD3), Brittney Miller (AD55), Rochelle Nguyen (AD10), and Cecelia Gonzalez (AD16), as well as Nnedi Stephens (running for SD13), Cindi Rivera (running for AD28), Angie Taylor (running for AD27), and Erica Mosca (running for AD14). Domestic worker leaders on Care in Action Nevada’s worker endorsement committee deliberated and voted to endorse these candidates as care champions who will be a strong voice for working women of color.
“Nevada nannies, house cleaners, and home care workers are going to turn out in force this November to elect candidates who will fight for us,” said Sobaika Mirza, Interim Co-Executive Director of Care in Action. “We know what’s at stake in this election. It’s critical that we elect a government that will deliver results for working people, and especially for the working women of color who make all other work possible.”
“These women are all true champions for the issues important to Nevada’s 15,000 domestic workers,” added Care in Action Nevada State Director Yadira Siqueiros. “We are proud to endorse their campaigns today because they understand that care work is the engine of our society and essential to all Nevadan families. We look forward to the work ahead and to seeing them win this November.”
The pandemic has exacerbated existing systemic injustices that disproportionately impact working people and people of color. This is especially true for the nearly 15,000 domestic workers in Nevada today, many of whom work as home care workers, who make an average hourly wage of just $11.44. Domestic workers are excluded from existing workplace protections extended to other workers, and during the pandemic have been among the last to receive support despite risking their own health and safety to care for others.
A growing number of older adults and people with disabilities require in-home care, and many of them rely upon Medicaid’s home- and community-based services (HCBS) to provide it. In Nevada, more than 18,000 people receive HCBS through Medicaid. Relatedly, a growing number of family caregivers struggle with the physical, emotional and financial strain that our underfunded HCBS system puts upon them. Investing in domestic workers and in HCBS is an investment in all Nevadan workers and families.
Women of color are key to progressive victories and to electing candidates who will support all families and workers in policy decisions, including domestic workers and immigrants. In 2020, the domestic worker movement mobilized on a large national scale, contacting millions of voters during election season and helping deliver the White House and control of the U.S. Senate to the Democratic Party.
Care in Action, a 501(c)(4) organization, was founded in 2016 at the request of domestic workers who knew they needed to build political power to advocate for dignity and fairness for this workforce.
Care in Action is the policy and advocacy home for women who care, working on behalf of more than two million domestic workers and care workers across America. Among the fastest-growing sectors in our economy, domestic workers are also among the most vulnerable and undervalued. As a mostly women and majority women of color workforce, this growing constituency consistently and overwhelmingly supports progressive values in American political life. Learn more at www.careinaction.us.
Paid for by Care in Action, Inc.