At least 800,000 women go to work in other people’s homes each day in the United States, serving as nannies, housekeepers, and caregivers for our elders and loved ones with disabilities. By caring for children and offering the aging both emotional support and assistance with the basic activities of daily life, they enable the recipients of their care to lead full and dignified lives. And by taking care of others’ families and homes, these women make it possible for their employers to go to work every day. If domestic workers went on strike, they could para lyze almost every industry. Doctors, lawyers, bankers, professors, small business owners, civil sector employees, and media executives would all be affected. The entire economy would tremble.
These are also the workers who are most consistently in contact with the most vulnerable clients of our health care system, who substantially cut healthcare costs by...
