Farewell to 2020!

2020 was a time to step up even as our communities were locking down.

This year, our small but dedicated team at the Miami Workers Center has been doing exactly that — we stepped up — adapting our organizing tactics, delivering mutual aid and critical information to our members and fighting for critical policies including a statewide eviction moratorium and for black lives. We stepped up to build the power of Black and Brown women and femmes and to ensure that the affordable housing crisis and the needs and voices of low-wage workers including domestic workers, are front and center in the response and as we move forward, in a just recovery.

Here is a recap of some of the ways we stepped up together during this wild year:

• MWC adapted rapidly to pandemic conditions — pivoting to online & virtual organizing strategies and remote work;
• We trained and supported members unfamiliar with WhatsApp, Zoom and Facebook Live, provided one-on-one support to 150 members to bridge the digital divide;
• MWC mobilized our Community Emergency Operations Center (CEOC) — originally built as a response to the impacts of climate change and increasing Hurricane activity on our poorly resourced community.
• Working closely with donors we raised critical funds to respond to the urgent needs of our members, mostly low-income Black, Latinx and Afro-Caribbean women and femmes, many of whom remain ineligible for the minimal forms of COVID-19 relief available.

MWC provided:

• 140 low-income families with survival food packages from our Emergency Pantry;
• 200 domestic workers with individual relief and rental assistance ranging from 50 USD to 400 USD;
• 25 members of our Trinidad and Sunnyland Mobile Home Tenant Union, organized by MWC and our partner SMASH, with individual relief to purchase needed supplies;
• more than 75 workers with lifesaving PPE kits through our domestic worker organizing project and;
• We conducted over 50 virtual meetings & trainings to ensure our members know their rights as renters and workers and have access to accurate information about COVID-19.

As a result of 1,500 MWC members/community members have received information, support and essential referrals through webinars, weekly calls, one-on-ones, and virtual town hall meetings.

We also led powerful campaigns and conducted effective electoral work:

Eviction Defense -Housing is a Human Right

MWC and our allies took over the state capitol with 200 renters and members of the Florida Housing Justice Alliance at the People’s Housing Assembly to demand affordable housing — as the pandemic emerged we demanded a statewide eviction moratorium and electricity power shut-off moratoriums. Our collective activism saw our local eviction moratoriums extended for more than 6 months. MWC built the power of renters through the establishment of 2 tenant unions and are now engaging in eviction defense work as our community members.

Additionally, MWC and our partners completed the community planning phase of our Health and Housing in Liberty City project. Over the past year, we engaged low-income and very low-income residents of the historically Black neighborhood of Liberty City, Miami, as well as community and institutional partners, in the design of a neighborhood housing and health blueprint! The Blueprint provides a plan to advance resident-designed plans for systems change around health and housing. Our work included a series of 5 community planning sessions to foster dialogue with 63 long-term residents of Liberty City. The sessions explore the history of Miami housing movement and the context for Liberty City, and created opportunities to collectively consider thought-provoking questions and think together about the future of Liberty City. We formed a steering committee of 10 residents to lead the process. Next up with continued support we will implement our plan!

Domestic Worker Organizing

Our domestic worker organizing work has taken on new dimensions as many of our members either found themselves abruptly unemployed or on the frontlines of a pandemic with very little support or guidance about how to survive.

In partnership with The Institute for Policy Studies’ (IPS) Black Worker Initiative and the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) — MWC’s We Dream in Black program conducted a survey on May 19-June 6, 2020 of Black immigrant domestic workers in Miami-Dade. The research effort was conducted simultaneously in two other locations (Massachusetts and New York) to look at the impact of COVID-19 on Black domestic workers. The findings revealed the dire situation of Black domestic workers in Miami:
Among the three locations surveyed, Miami-Dade workers are most vulnerable:

• 93% of Black Domestic Worker respondents in Miami have either lost their jobs (83% compared to 45% avg. at other sites) or received reduced hours and pay (9% compared to 25% avg. at other sites);
• 90% of respondents in Miami report being at risk of eviction or having their utilities shut off compared to 65% across all sites;
• and, again Miami-Dade workers are worse off, with 85% reporting that they have no medical insurance compared to only 51% in other cities.

The research is spurring a greater focus on the experiences of Black domestic workers and laying an evidence base for our work to demand a just recovery.

In 2020, MWC organized domestic workers into neighborhood based mutual support groups, provided support and practical information as well as mutual aid. We provided PPE and information about protecting yourself from Covid-19 as cleaning and care workers. We are committed to going deep, centering the experiences and growing the leadership of Black care workers whom are experiencing wage theft, discrimination, and many other human rights violations. MWC continues to demand economic recovery efforts at the local, state, and federal level that will provide essential supports to low wage workers such as paid sick leave, food assistance, rent and utility support, childcare or tutoring support, and increased protections for informal workers.

Labor Trafficking & Domestic Violence

MWC has also supported women who are experiencing violence including intensive support for 4 labor trafficked domestic workers and 3 domestic violence survivors and their families.

Census Turn Out- An Act of Defiance!!

2020 was also a critical year to ensure that African American, Afro-Caribbean including Haitian and Latinx Black women, particularly low-wage and immigrant domestic workers in Liberty City, Overtown, Little Haiti completed their Census forms and were counted! We held 7 virtual engagements attended by 587 people and we mobilized our members to reach 696 women through one-on-one calls to support them to understand the importance of being counted! We reached over 8,000 people via facebook, text and twitter!

Elections 2020: Here Comes the Boom

MWC mounted an incredible electoral program this year, organizing low-propensity voters and contributing mightily to a historic Black women voter turnout nationwide!

We mobilized 50 members and allies through our volunteer phone and text-banking programming — we contacted 15,000 unique Black women voters, made over 10,000 phone calls and sent over 23,000 messages. Our canvassing program knocked on 6,565 doors (19,481 attempts) in historic Black Precincts! Our work mobilized nearly 2,500 women to the polls!!

In February 2020, together with our allies, we took over the capital for Black Girl’s Day at the Capitol to celebrate the contributions and resilience of Black women and girls and call on Florida legislators to craft legislation that ensures safety and dignity.

Additionally, more than 2,800 Black and brown women joined us on October 23rd and 24th for a dynamic power building virtual conference designed to mobilize and build the political power and prowess of Black women and femme voters. The HCB assembly is the culmination of a virtual event series including Women’s Circles, Femme Saturdays and phone banking events to mobilize, educate and inform voters, increase voter turnout and vote-by-mail, and contribute to voter protection for the 2020 General Election amongst Black women, femmes and allies in Miami-Dade.

Did we win everything we want? No.

Do we have more work to do? Yes.

Together with our members we continue demanding gender justice and a just recovery that responds to the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on Black and Brown women and places our needs front and center in recovery efforts- prioritizing affordable childcare, safe school reopening and quality jobs.

We are taking an attitude of gratitude for the labors of love from our members, organizers, canvassers, volunteers, staff, and donors. Thank you for your resilience, your can-do attitudes and not giving up the fight. We move forward with an increased sense of purpose and with renewed confidence in our collective power.

Help Us Advance Our Work

As 2020 draws to a close please consider making an end of year tax-deductible donation to the Miami Workers Center to help us advance our work in 2021!