Workers’ Rights

1. Reflect on your role as a worker in the context of the larger economy and ask these questions:

• Is the value I create for people in my community, society, or the environment through my work
• What are the impacts on society and our collective well-being when corporations consolidate power through the court system and our elected officials?
• As a worker, do you feel represented and protected by your HR department? Why or why not?
• If you experienced your employer violating your rights or others, are you familiar with what resources are at your disposal and generally how the law works to deal with the situation appropriately?

2. Think about someone in your life who’s cared for you. Think about the value of that relationship.

It could be a family member, a neighbor, a childcare provider, or some other caregiver in your life. What role did they play in your life? Bonus points: Give them a shout-out, call them, and just let them know that you appreciate them.

1. Be an Ethical Employer

1. Be an Ethical EmployerThe National Domestic Workers Alliance’s sister organization, Hand in Hand, offers support to employers of domestic workers (housekeepers, nannies, caregivers.) Also, their new app Alia allows you to provide insurance and time-off for people you employ in your home. Check out the resources on their website, domesticemployers.org, to learn how you can ethically employ someone in your home.

2. Collective Courage

We’ve got some homework for you! Per Jamila’s (from Season 2, Episode 9) suggestion, start with reading Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice by Jessica Gordon Nembhard. Collective Courage chronicles Black cooperative business ownership and its place in the civil rights movement. A history that’s often forgotten when discussing coops.