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CNN Sunday Morning

Immigrant Domestic Workers Face Unique Problems

Aired April 29, 2001 - 09:19   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Many working families that opt not to send their children to childcare centers are turning to domestic workers to help them raise their kids. It's a growing trend, especially in areas highly populated by immigrants.

CNN's Selma Gutierrez (ph) reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a typical morning in Los Angeles. Professional moms like Gina Monaci scramble to feed her family and get to work on time. Something, she says, she couldn't do without the help of Aldomel Garr (ph), her son's nanny.

GINA MONACI, WORKING MOTHER: Because I'm a working mom, a lot of times when I come home I can't just be like there for them.

GUTIERREZ: This relationship between working woman and nanny is a growing trend in areas where there are Latin American immigrants. Nowhere is it more apparent than in the heart of downtown. Women hop trains down to more affluent areas where they will work as nannies and housekeepers.

(on camera): They leave at the break of dawn. Oftentimes, the commute can take an hour one way.

(voice-over): Some of the women told us they have kids of their own; but with few skills and limited English, domestic work is one of the only ways to make a living.

PIERRETTE HONDAGNEU-SOTELO, SOCIOLOGIST: Paid domestic work is a job and it's covered by minimum wage laws. Many Americans are not aware of that.

GUTIERREZ: Sociologist Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo estimates, in Los Angeles Country alone, there are 100,000 domestic workers. Women, she says, who are often exploited, paid in cash too little too often.

With no real enforcement of current labor laws, Rossana Perez, an activist for immigrant's rights, rides trains and buses each and every morning to educate women about minimum wage and their rights as workers.

ROSSANA PEREZ, IMMIGRANT'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST: It is important for them to know what their rights are so then they can protect themselves.

GUTIERREZ: Gina says it's also up to the employers, like herself, to follow the rules. After all, she says, it's the women like Outa (ph) who make it possible for professional women in this country to go to work knowing their kids are in safe hands.

Selma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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