“We are becoming a 24/7 workforce.”

“I Can't Breathe”

On May 1, 2020, Justa Barrios, a New York City home-care worker and labor activist, passed away from COVID-19. After working twenty-four-hour shifts for fourteen years, Barrios had injuries and compounding medical issues, including asthma, stomach difficulties, and heart problems. Her doctor determined that she could no longer work twenty-four-hour shifts. Yet when the home-care agency received a letter from the doctor requesting Barrios be assigned to eight-hour shifts, the agency dropped her. Barrios fought back. She found her voice in the “Ain't I a Woman?!” Campaign; comrades described her as a “fearless leader.” Stemming from an alliance among female immigrants and US-born garment, plastics, office, and home-care workers, via workers’ centers such as the National Mobilization Against Sweatshops, this organizing effort has sought to end twenty-four-hour days—and the legally permissible practice of paying for only thirteen hours—in New York state through direct action, the courts, union arbitration, and state legislation prohibiting twenty-four -hour shifts. Women such as Justa Barros, Lai Yee Chan, Mei Kum Chu, Seferina Rosario, and Sileni Martinez see the “Aint I a Woman?!” Campaign as a “new women's movement fighting for control over our time, health, respect and payment.” As a cross-racial group, members chose to invoke Sojourner Truth, who tied together the causes of slavery abolition and women's rights, emancipation from coerced labor and from patriarchy, the dignity of women's labor and the dignity of release from work. But this legislation, which would seem so obviously humane and jarringly anachronistic, has been stalled in the New York legislature and ignored by Governor Andrew Cuomo for over a year.

“我们正在成为24/7的劳动力。”

“我不能呼吸”

2020年5月1日，纽约市家庭护理工作者和劳工活动家Justa Barrios从COVID-19逝世。在24小时轮班工作了14年之后，Barrios受伤并加重了医疗问题，包括哮喘，胃病和心脏疾病。她的医生确定她不能再轮班二十四小时。然而，当家庭护理机构收到医生的一封信，要求将Barrios安排为八小时轮班时，该机构将她丢下了。巴里奥斯反击。她在“我不是女人吗？！”中找到自己的声音。活动; 同志们称她为“无所畏惧的领袖”。通过诸如国家动员反对血汗工厂之类的工人中心，摆脱了女性移民与美国出生的服装，塑料，办公室和家庭护理工人之间的联盟，这种组织工作试图通过直接行动，法院，工会仲裁和禁止二十四小时轮班的州立法，在纽约州结束二十四小时的工作日以及合法的只支付十三小时的做法。 。Justa Barros，Lai Yee Chan，Mei Kum Chu，Seferina Rosario和Sileni Martinez等女性都看到“我是女人吗？！” 作为“争取控制我们的时间，健康，尊重和报酬的新妇女运动的运动”。作为一个跨种族的团体，成员选择了Sojourner Truth，他们将废除奴隶制和妇女权利的原因，从强迫劳动和父权制下的解放，妇女劳动的尊严以及从工作中释放出来的尊严联系在一起。但是，这项立法似乎很人道化，并且过时了，