Solidarity Economy
Sisters in Struggle Mutual Aid Program
Everyone has something to offer and everyone has things that they need. We understand that needing things is not a personal failure – we are living in a profoundly unequal society without safety nets. This is not our fault, and we believe in taking collective responsibility for getting everyone through times of crisis. Miami Workers Center believes that every person deserves dignity and stability in their lives, and we all commit to working to support that. All people deserve access to basic needs, regardless of income, immigration status, gender, age.
Miami Workers Center began to organize in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its anticipated impact on our communities. Mutual aid is about showing up in our communities and pooling our resources to make sure everyone has what they need. We honor a long history of mutual aid by remembering that we are not alone and showing up for each other.
We also know mutual aid will only get us so far – we are organizers making large-scale demands of our community and our politicians for an equitable world. We are just one community in a long history of mutual aid committed to collective surviving and thriving.
Worker Cooperatives
South Florida is home to around 100,000 domestic workers, the majority of whom are immigrant women of color who are paid low wages without any benefits. More than 85% of domestic workers surveyed in Miami have experienced wage theft, even though it is their labor that makes all other work in our economy possible. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a public health crisis, billionaires made record profits while Black and Latina domestic workers were left unprotected – without access to healthcare, job stability, or protections from wage theft, abuse, and discrimination. We believe it is possible to build an economy that visibilizes and values domestic workers for their essential labor.
That is why, Miami Workers Center is in process of developing a care worker cooperative. While continuing to organize and launch campaigns to raise the floor for domestic workers across the county, we seek to collaborate with workers to define a truly democratic, entrepreneurial and community-driven economy that centers workers’ voices, grows worker wealth, and builds worker power in Miami-Dade.
Care workers will be equipped with the tools and resources necessary to be worker-owners and run democratic businesses that center workers and communities. “More worker-owners in the U.S. means better pay, benefits and workplaces… When low-wage workers become worker-owners, their income is 22% higher and their individual wealth increases by 17%, as compared to their non-owner peers.” – Project Equity
The development of a care worker cooperative also demonstrates our commitment to a green economy. Care jobs are green jobs. Investment in the care economy is critical at this moment as we continue to push for investment in climate resilient infrastructure, and Just Disaster Recovery.
