The Dominican Development Center is a nonprofit organization run and directed by immigrant residents of Boston, Massachusetts. Magalis Troncoso, a native of the Dominican Republic, is the Director and Founder of the Dominican Development Center. Central to the work of the Dominican Development Center is to advocate for the rights of domestic workers. 

Empowering All Immigrant Communities

The organization’s motto is “Empowering All Immigrant Communities.” 

The Dominican Development Center serves immigrants of all backgrounds, and its membership reflects the diverse immigrant community in Boston. The organization’s members include immigrants from Cuba, Cape Verde, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, among other places.

The Dominican Development Center provides various services to its members. Among its most popular program offerings are ESL classes, citizenship classes, and a Home Aid Training Program. 

The Home Aid Training Program

There are approximately 65,000 domestic workers in the City of Boston. The challenge, says Troncoso, is to reach and organize all 65,000 individuals. This is the goal of the Dominican Development Center: to organize, educate, and mobilize workers.

One way that the Dominican Development Center has done this is by partnering with other organizations and coalitions, like the National Alliance of Domestic Workers. 

Troncoso says, “Together we are stronger and together we have more capacity.”

For example, the Dominican Development Center is a founding member of the Massachusetts Coalition of Domestic Workers. And in partnership with the National Alliance of Domestic Workers, the Dominican Development Center organized its members to advocate for the Boston Bill of Rights for Domestic Workers. The bill was passed in 2014. Now the Dominican Development Center works to educate domestic workers about their rights in the state of Massachusetts.

The organization also offers a Home Aid Program. The purpose of the program is to __. Grassroots Solutions provides curriculum support.

There are currently 32 students enrolled in the Home Aid Program. 

Before the pandemic, students would meet in person. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dominican Development Center and its members have had to adapt to virtual classrooms.

Students meet virtually every Friday. Troncoso says her students have told her, “We have to graduate no matter what.” Troncoso says that even though this is a difficult economic time, members are still very eager to virtually participate and complete the Home Aid Program. They want to be prepared for jobs once the economy begins to recover. 

Technology and Worker Rights 

The Dominican Development Center has traditionally not offered technology classes. But the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced new challenges for workers and workers rights.

Workers need computers to work from home, workers need email accounts to receive important information, workers need phones with several apps to stay connected to other workers and organizations like the Dominican Development Center. 

But many workers do not have email accounts set up, or do not have a computer at home.

The Dominican Development Center has responded to the needs of its members, and is now offering technology classes. The organization is motivating its members to set up a virtual workstation at home.

But there are still many needs. The Dominican Development Center is calling for donations of computers or laptops. These computers can help workers do remote work from home. 

Mutual Aid: Workers Supporting Workers 

Troncoso says that since  March, she has seen the need for food increasing. And working families are organizing to help each other. 

The Dominican Development Center has teamed up with the YMCA of Boston to distribute food to families. For almost a month and a half, the Dominican Development Center has been distributing food every Thursday and Friday. They deliver 200 plates on Thursday and 200 plates on Friday. To date, they have distributed food to approximately 1,000 families.   

What infrastructure does the organization have to reach families? People power. 

Troncoso says that workers take turns helping each other. Volunteers make phone calls to determine who needs food. No applications are needed. Families are simply asked for names, phone numbers, and an address to drop off the food. 

15 to 20 volunteer workers safely transport food to a new set of families each week. Abiding by social distancing protocols, volunteers leave packages of food outside of family homes. About every two weeks, new families are selected for donations. And Troncoso notes that requests for food continue to increase.  

In mid-April, the Dominican Development Center started distributing personal protective equipment as well. Packages of food now also include masks, gloves, and sanitizers.

In collaboration with the National Alliance and Domestic Workers, the Dominican Development Center has also given out gift cards. To date, they have been able to distribute 100 gift cards. Troncoso says they need more funding to continue disbursing gift cards. 

Message to the Federal Government: “Domestic workers have been left out and that’s not fair” 

Domestic workers in the United States faced challenging employment contexts even before the pandemic. Many workers did not have one full-time job. Instead, they often worked several part-time jobs. Now that the pandemic has hit the United States, these workers have lost jobs, and are excluded from employment benefits. And these workers have also been left out of the federal stimulus packages. 

Members of the Dominican Development Center want the world to know that domestic workers are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Troncoso says domestic workers are essential workers, and they deserve worker protection and benefits, too. “We know that domestic workers are on the frontlines,” says Troncoso, “They work in family homes to support children and sick patients.” 

“Domestic workers have been left out and that’s not fair, “ says Troncoso, “But we are resilient, and we have the determination to keep working hard.”

It is community and mutual aid among workers that is currently helping many immigrant families survive the pandemic.

Learn More: https://dominicandevelopmentcenter.org