Barnard College’s “Building Worker Power” class for the “Damayan Timeline Launch”

“Seeing the culmination of everyone’s work (the work done by not only our class but Damayan members and leaders) was incredibly moving, especially seeing how the timeline was embraced by Damayan members and supporters who were not directly involved in the creation of the timeline. It gave me hope not only for Damayan’s future and for the future of labor organizing but also for all of us to realize how empowering and effective community-based work can be!”

-Bella, Barnard College Student

“​​For me, [ang event ay] important dahil malalaman ng mga tao kung ano ano yong mga nagawa na ng Damayan mga achievement ng Damayan ng mga nagdaang taon” -

-Delia B, Damayan Worker Leader.

(Translation: "For me, [the event] is important because people will know what Damayan has completed, the achievements of Damayan in the past years.”) 

In December, Damayan members and allies joined Barnard College’s “Building Worker Power” class for the “Damayan Timeline Launch” at The People’s Forum, New York. The launch was an important time to both celebrate Damayan’s 20 years of successful organizing history while also inspiring the continuance of organizing for worker power for the decades to come! The full day included the following: 

  • Barnard College students detailed their interview process, timeline consolidations, and their main takeaways from the project and interactions with Damayan, emphasizing the importance of labor organizing and the power of community

  • Rhode Island School of Design artist Nina Martinez shared her process in crafting the art and structure of the timeline

  • Damayan staff and former leaders presented the six main themes in their 20-year organizing timeline of: 1. Domestic Worker Organizing, 2. Organizing initiatives such as Health programs, Worker’s Academy, and more 3. Anti-Trafficking Organizing 4. Anti-War Organizing 5. Climate Change Humanitarian Programs 6. Pandemic Organizing 

The Damayan Executive Director, Riya Ortiz, ended the event with a call-to-action: for Damayan’s history to motivate all attendees to organize for their community. Damayan dreams of a future where all are politicized and can commit time to organize for and with their community, like how Damayan proudly organizes for the low-wage Filipino migrant worker community in New York City. 

Damayan Migrant Workers Association