Prominent Labor Activists You Should Know: Ai-jen Poo
Ai-jen Poo attended Phillips Academy and graduated in 1992. She then attended Columbia University, majoring in women’s studies. Her experience as an activist began upon joining one hundred students in an occupation of the Low Library, demanding that Columbia create a new diverse curriculum for students. As a result, Columbia developed the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race. Ai-jen Poo later recalled how that experience empowered her. She said, “Working with a really diverse group of students around our shared goals gave me a sense of how powerful campaigns can be if they’re strategic—how it is possible to really make change.”
The Beginning of Change
Ai-jen Poo’s career as an activist began in 1996, focusing on labor standards and working conditions for domestic or private-household workers. Domestic workers, including housekeepers, caregivers, and nannies, are excluded from a majority of federal and state labor laws. Some laws include occupational safety and health protection, sick and paid vacation, protection from discrimination and sexual harassment, and more.
In 2000, Ai-jen organized domestic workers with CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities, a division within the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence. She also helped found the New York-based Domestic Workers United (DWU), an organization of Caribbean, Latina, and African domestic workers across New York.
She served as DWU’s lead organizer for nine years and led successful campaigns in parks, on buses, and in other places where people gathered to educate and inform mistreated workers about their rights.
In 2007, Poo founded the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA). On July 1, 2010, Poo got her first massive breakthrough with the NDWA as she helped secure a significant policy win for domestic workers. After a difficult seven-year-long legislative campaign, the New York state legislature passed the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, permitting domestic workers the same rights as other employees, including overtime, 3-day paid time off, vacation time, and more. The policy also protects domestic workers from discrimination.
More Accomplishments
Ai-jen Poo’s fight as a labor activist prevails as she continues to serve as the executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, director of Caring Across Generations, co-founder of SuperMajority, and trustee of the Ford Foundation. Her decades-long work as an activist is highly recognized and valued by many. We are grateful for her phenomenal work and remarkable character. Check out more of her accomplishments below.
- In 2011, she launched Caring Across Generations.
- In 2012, she was named one of Time Magazine’s most influential people and appeared on Newsweek’s list of 150 Fearless Women.
- In 2014, she won the MacArthur “Genius” Award.
- In 2015, she published her book The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America.
- In 2019, she co-founded SuperMajority with Cecile Richards and Alicia Garza.
You can learn more about Ai-jen achievements.
Thank you Ai-jen Poo for your outstanding hard work and tireless dedication. You are valued and much appreciated.
Happy Women’s Month