DOMESTIC WORKERS UNITE INC.

What DOMESTIC WORKERS UNITE INC. does

Domestic Workers United (DWU) is a Black-immigrant-led, 100% worker-led nonprofit grassroots organization founded in 2000 in Brooklyn, New York. It organizes and serves a membership of Caribbean, African, and Latinx immigrant domestic workers — primarily nannies, elder care workers, and house cleaners — through Know Your Rights education sessions, Worker Town Halls, legal advocacy referrals, healthcare access navigation (via NYC Care), food justice CSA distribution, healing retreats, and arts and cultural programming. The organization does not sell products or services; all member programming is delivered free of charge.

DWU's core operational capability is human-driven community organizing rather than technology. Its infrastructure consists of a Squarespace-hosted website, a Facebook page, email communication via a shared Gmail address, and an in-person organizing model anchored by monthly member meetings and grassroots outreach. There is no proprietary software platform, no mobile application, and no documented data or analytics capability.

DWU is funded through foundation grants (including $125,000 from the New York Women's Foundation in 2020 and a two-year Artist Employment Grant from Creatives Rebuild New York in 2022), Brooklyn Community Foundation support, and individual donations solicited via the Network for Good platform. Its revenue model is therefore grant-dependent and episodic rather than recurring. The organization is governed by a board of domestic workers (Chair Dianne Brown, Treasurer Shirland Pierre McDonald, Secretary Christine Lewis) and partners with more than a dozen allied organizations including the National Domestic Workers Alliance, CUNY School of Law, TakeRoot Justice, and The Public Theater. DWU has no parent company, no venture capital backing, and no disclosed headcount beyond its board and pro bono grantwriter.

Name

DOMESTIC WORKERS UNITE INC.

Legal name

Domestic Workers United

Website

https://domesticworkersunitednyc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Domestic Workers United is a Black-immigrant-led, worker-led Brooklyn nonprofit that organizes and advocates for Caribbean, African, and Latinx immigrant nannies, elder care workers, and house cleaners through education, legal advocacy, food distribution, and cultural programs, all delivered free of charge.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Worker Advocacy and Labor Rights Organizing

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB)

Keywords

• Domestic worker organizing
• Labor rights advocacy
• Worker-led nonprofit
• Immigrant worker support
• Community organizing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Grants and Foundation Funding: DWU receives grant funding from foundations including The New York Women's Foundation COVID-19 Response & Recovery Fund ($125,000 awarded in 2020), Brooklyn Community Foundation, and Creatives Rebuild New York (two-year Artist Employment Grant in 2022). These grants support operational costs, programmatic activities, and emergency financial support to members.
2. Individual Donations: DWU solicits individual donations through its website (donateNOW Network for Good link) and mentions 'generous individual donors' who contributed to emergency stipends for workers during the pandemic.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Domestic Workers United (DWU) is a Black-immigrant-led grassroots nonprofit that organizes and supports domestic workers—nannies, elder care workers, and house cleaners—primarily Caribbean, African, and Latinx immigrant women in New York City. It delivers Know Your Rights educational sessions, Worker Town Halls, food justice CSA distribution, healing retreats, arts and cultural activities, healthcare referrals, and legal advocacy for workplace discrimination, harassment, and wage theft. DWU also campaigns for progressive labor legislation and leads implementation of the 2010 New York Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.

Product overview

DOMESTIC WORKERS UNITE INC. (DWU) is a Black-immigrant-led grassroots racial justice organization, not a technology product company. DWU offers a range of member services including Know Your Rights educational sessions, Worker Town Halls, food justice CSA distribution, healing retreats, arts and cultural activities for liberation, healthcare and health insurance access referrals (through NYC Care), and legal advocacy for members facing discrimination, harassment, wage theft, and other workplace injustices. DWU is a membership-based worker organization focused on organizing domestic workers (nannies, elder care workers, house cleaners) and advocating for labor rights rather than offering software products or technology platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Know Your Rights Sessions Educational sessions educating domestic workers on their legal rights under the NY Domestic Workers Bill of Rights and related labor protections, delivered free to members.
• Worker Town Halls Member town hall meetings providing peer discussion, organizing updates, and worker-led agenda-setting, held weekly during the pandemic and at member meetings on the third Saturday of each month.
• Food Justice CSA Distribution Subsidized CSA-style weekly distribution of organic fresh fruits, vegetables, and culinary herbs to 35-70 domestic-worker-headed households in NYC between June and November, delivered in partnership with Maple Street Community Garden.
• Legal Advocacy Referrals Legal advocacy and referrals through allied attorneys for members experiencing workplace discrimination, harassment, wage theft, and other injustice, provided free to members.
• Healthcare and Health Insurance Access Referrals Healthcare and health insurance access referrals through NYC Care for domestic worker members who lack access to employer-based coverage.
• Healing Retreats and Arts/Cultural Activities for Liberation Healing retreats and arts/cultural programming including theater, writing, and music activities designed for member liberation, with DWU members composing, acting, and producing their own work stories.
• Membership Program Free membership in DWU for domestic workers, house cleaners, nannies, child care workers, and elder care workers, providing access to all member programs and services.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,000+ worker base built and mobilized to pass the 2010 Domestic Workers Bill of Rights
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Maple Street Community GardencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Food justice partnership begun in 2020, continuing through 2023. Provides organic fresh fruits, vegetables, and culinary herbs weekly (June-November) to 35-70 domestic-worker-headed households in NYC. Garden 'food give' Saturdays serve as weekly community gatherings where members share stories, news, and resources.
• Brooklyn For PeaceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlly organization supporting DWU's community organizing and advocacy work.
• CUNY School of LawminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlly providing legal expertise and support, including student volunteers for Know Your Rights education and legal research.
• TakeRoot JusticeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlly organization providing legal advocacy and worker justice support.
• Haitian Women for Haitian RefugeesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlly organization supporting Haitian immigrant domestic workers; introduced Eileen Condon to DWU in 2015 during transition to worker leadership.
• National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDWU became a founding member of NDWA at the first US Social Forum in 2007. NDWA is a national alliance of domestic worker organizations; DWU represented NDWA as founding member of International Domestic Workers Network in 2010.
• PEN Worker Writers SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural programming partner offering writing workshops for liberation. Christine Lewis is a founding member of the Worker Writers School.
• The Public TheaterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural partner providing theater and performance opportunities for domestic workers; Christine Lewis participates as an actor at The Public Theater.
• Breaking Bread NYCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlly partner supporting food justice initiatives; collaborated with DWU on food distribution.
• Coalition of Immokalee WorkersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlly organization in broader worker justice movement; shared commitment to labor organizing across industries.
• Cornell University ILR SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlly academic institution supporting worker rights education and research.
• Ain't I A Woman CampaignminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint podcast production documenting enslavement-like conditions of live-in domestic workers during the pandemic.
• CAAAV Women Workers ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner — in 2000, the Women Workers Project of CAAAV (a Filipina domestic workers organization), in collaboration with Andolan Organizing South Asian Workers, founded DWU through a series of monthly meetings in Brooklyn.
• Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNYC government agency ally providing Workers' Rights education during the pandemic (multiple Town Hall sessions on Workers' Rights I, II, and III).

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Make the Road New York: NYC-based immigrant and worker justice organization with overlapping constituency (Latinx and immigrant workers). Comparable community-organizing, legal-services, and advocacy model in the same geography.
• Coalition of Immokalee Workers: Worker-led farmworker organization with a comparable worker-driven, cross-cultural, cross-immigration-status organizing model. Named allied organization of DWU and recognized peer in the worker justice field.
• Andolan Organizing South Asian Workers: Co-founder of DWU in 2000; South Asian domestic and low-wage worker organizing in NYC. Directly comparable in constituency, model, and geography.
• Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees: Named DWU ally organization supporting Haitian immigrant domestic workers in NYC. Comparable immigration-status-sensitive advocacy and direct service model.
• Workers' Justice Project of New York: NYC-based worker center organizing low-wage immigrant workers — comparable membership base, Know-Your-Rights programming, and worker-led governance approach to DWU.
• National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA): National federation of which DWU is a founding member; operates the same domestic worker organizing model at scale across 70+ affiliates. Direct organizational and strategic peer.
• CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities: NYC-based immigrant worker justice organization that founded DWU in 2000 through its Women Workers Project. Operates an adjacent low-wage immigrant worker organizing model in the same city and population.

Others

• Maple Street Community Garden: Core food-justice partner of DWU since 2020; comparable small community-based organization but ecosystem partner rather than organizing peer.
• TakeRoot Justice: NYC legal-services and worker-justice support organization allied with DWU; provides legal advocacy infrastructure rather than competing as a peer organizer.

Emerging players

• Casa Atabex Ache: NYC-based community organization focused on women workers of color and gender-based violence; partial overlap with DWU's intersectional worker justice mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/domesticworkersunitednyc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DOMESTIC WORKERS UNITE INC.