New joint office, new hub for caregivers in San Diego
SAN DIEGO – On November 20, 2023, the Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California (PWC) and the United Domestic Workers of America (UDW-AFSCME Local 3930) were joined by the community of San Diego to celebrate the grand opening of their new joint office, located at 1365 W Vista Way, Suite 100, Vista, CA 92083.
The program started with an office blessing led by Father Miguel Romero of St. Mark’s Church and was followed by an indigenous blessing of the 4 directions in Visayan language, led by Dr. Catherine Luib. PWC members entertained the attendees with song and dance performances in traditional Filipino music and language. Workers, members and staff also joined the celebration with community singing and dancing. An open house was held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. where members of the community were able to explore the offices and community spaces.
Program emcees Clytie Causing (co-director, Community Action, PWC) and Editha Adams (statewide president, UDW) expressed their immense joy and excitement for their organizations to be housed under one roof. Both organizations aim to improve the lives of domestic workers and their families by building collective power through education, self-sufficiency and leadership building. With this new office, PWC and UDW hope to be able to reach the underserved communities of San Diego and provide them with more services, resources and support.
Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) and United Domestic Workers of America (UDW) aim to transform the healthcare industry by fighting for issues that impact families and communities, such as immigrant rights, gender equity and workplace justice.
One of the speakers, UDW executive director, Doug Moore said, “Coalition work is what UDW does best. Our union is a union of homecare and childcare providers. They take care of people with disabilities and they take care of the elderly in their homes.”
Through coalition work with PWC and other organizations, they are also finding different pathways and solutions to affordable healthcare for the low income and the middle-class communities of California, while also advocating for the rights of the workers in the care industry.
Over the past 2 decades, the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) has been actively fighting for the rights of domestic workers, particularly, Filipino caregivers in Southern California. PWC has won over $9 million in back wages for caregivers and by the end of next year, they will have collected about $6 million, which is a great triumph for workers. Versoza expressed that they are not solely focused on getting back wages for workers but are also geared towards finding long-term solutions for domestic workers to have better working conditions and to end the exclusion from basic healthcare protections.
“We have to create a whole solution to both affordability of healthcare and the jobs, and we have to build worker power through the process,” said Aquilina Soriano Versoza, executive director of PWC. “We’re also building worker-owned cooperatives, building models in the private sector that are building democratically-run worksites and are actually lifting the jobs because we also fight against wage theft.”
PWC also announced the upcoming launch of their worker-led neighborhood turf teams in 7 locations in Southern California. With the opening of their new office, and as they expand their network and influence in San Diego, they plan to continue their efforts to organize workers and build people power for a more equitable future. Aside from partnering with the United Domestic Workers of America (UDW), PWC is also a member of multiple coalitions for social justice such as the Los Angeles Worker Center Network (LAWCN), the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) and the California Domestic Workers Coalition (CDWC).
Through their programs and advocacy work, PWC targets to build a future of care where everyone can actually have real options for the type of care that they want. For PWC, transforming healthcare means that individuals can age in their own communities with dignity. “It is a future where even caregivers, when they are older, would be able to receive the kind of care they have also been giving. That is the world we want to create,” said Versoza.
The new office of PWC and UDW is open during business hours from Mondays to Fridays. Residents of San Diego and community members are welcome to visit the office for consultation and to seek help for issues involving workers’ rights, immigrants’ rights and homecare. They will also provide services such as Workforce Development Training programs (free training for caregivers), legal consultation, free tax preparation, I-TIN applications, assistance in phone and utility bills and more.
Versoza ended the program by encouraging the community with inspiring words, “We are doing this
together with the members of PWC and UDW. And that’s what makes us so powerful. Our heart
together for social justice and our fight. We are going to fight for everyone.”
(PWC/UDW Release) n
