Philadelphia Workers Are Readying a Bill With a Basic Demand: Just Enforce the Law

Domestic workers rally at Philadelphia City Hall in support of new anti-retaliation legislation. Photo courtesy National Domestic Workers Alliance and Rachael Warriner.

Adriana still remembers the day last spring when she got paid less than minimum wage. She was at a big suburban house outside Philadelphia that was at least three stories tall, and it had taken her and a crew more than six hours, without breaks, to clean it. At the next house, the supervisor told Adriana, who’d asked for a break, to wait in the van. She’d been fired.

Adriana said she got $40 cash for the eight hours she spent in the van and cleaning that day. She’d been promised $90 for the day. If she’d been paid minimum wage, she would have earned $58.