The Ties of Labor

“As women, we’re not just concerned with the work, but what the work is tied to,” said CYNTHIA TOBAR at the premiere of her new documentary short, Mujeres Atrevidas (Bold Women). The film is the culmination of a wider collaboration with the Worker’s Justice Project dedicated to telling the stories of migrant women organizers in New York City. Many work as domestic help or as delivery drivers and enjoy few, if any, work protections. They are parents who often care for their children on the job, owing to the prohibitive cost of child care, and often support family members in their home countries. They congregate to find informal employment at La Parada (or The Stop) at the corner of Division Street and Marcy Avenue in Williamsburg. Every aspect of their life in America is dependent on community. Through organizing with the Worker’s Justice Project, a membership-based worker center with a base of more than 12,000 low-wage workers in various industries, these bold women are preparing the tools to fight for fair pay and safe working conditions. As member YASMINE BATIZ put it in the post-screening panel discussion, “Without the workers, we are nothing.”