On Wednesday, Care in Action, a nonprofit group dedicated to fighting for dignity and fairness for the millions of domestic workers in the United States, formally announced its endorsement of Senator Jennifer McClellan as Virginia’s next governor. 

Care in Action released the following statement: 

“Jennifer McClellan is a champion for domestic workers, women, and the people of Virginia,” said Alexsis Rodgers, Virginia State Director for Care in Action. “She understands the value of our care economy and has fought tirelessly to provide the first-ever labor protections for 60,000 domestic workers in Virginia. Her track record of public service and legislative wins is unmatched by any candidate in this race. We are thrilled to endorse her campaign because she has a proven track record of improving the lives of families across the commonwealth.”

“As the daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, and niece of domestic workers, I am so honored to be endorsed by Care in Action,” said McClellan. “For 400 years, the American economy has been built on the backs of domestic workers. Ending Jim Crow laws preventing fair wages for domestic workers in Virginia has been one of the proudest accomplishments of my career. As Governor, I will continue to champion progress for domestic workers and other Virginians who have been left behind for far too long.”

During the 2021 General Assembly session, McClellan has patroned SB1310, the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights. Her legislation ensures that all domestic workers have the right to a safe workplace free of harassment and discrimination. The Virginia Senate and House have passed a series of bills officially recognizing this workforce as employees and to receive the same protections granted to other workers, including health and safety standards, anti-discrimination rights, unemployment compensation, and worker’s compensation. 

“As a legislator, I have fought for the past 15 years to expand workers’ rights, increase wages, and remove Jim Crow Era exclusions to existing worker protections that exacerbate inequity,” McClellan told the PW Perspective. “I have also led on ending workplace discrimination and harassment. Most recently, I successfully championed legislation making Virginia the first southern state to expand workplace protections to domestic workers and strengthen Virginia’s anti-discrimination laws through the passage of the Pregnant Worker Fairness Act, the Virginia Values Act, and the Equal Rights Amendment. As a candidate and as Governor, I will center the experiences and needs of our workers–particularly those who have not had a seat at the policy-making table. As Governor, I will not just create a seat at the table for them, but take the policy-making table to their communities. I will build on the progress we’ve made to safeguard workers’ rights and lead an economic recovery that centers the needs of workers trying to balance the needs of their jobs with the needs of their families.”

Domestic workers, most of whom are Black, Latinx, and immigrant women, are part of the country’s fastest growing workforce. As part of its mission, Care in Action works to elect candidates that center domestic workers and people of color in their policy decisions. Domestic workers have been systematically excluded from workers’ protection laws in the past due to the fact that domestic workers were predominantly Black.

“Care In Action is all about building a new kind of political power for women of color, and that’s why I’m always excited to work for Care in Action,” Rodgers told the PW Perspective. “We are unashamed to be for women of color, to build that political pipeline of power and talent, and to have domestic workers, at the center, who are overwhelmingly women of color and immigrant women. That means showing up for women of color when they run for office.”

Rodgers reiterated that Care in Action is “thrilled to be all in for Senator McClellan’s campaign.”

Care in Action has endorsed 13 candidates—all women of color—for Virginia state office, including ten candidates who are now members of the Virginia General Assembly. In the 2020-2021 election season, the organization endorsed 76 candidates across the seven states in which the group is active. Out of the 76 candidates, 55 of them won their elections.

During the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election, Care in Action ran one of the largest voter contact programs in the state to help Stacey Abrams campaign.

Care in Action is partially responsible for delivering a Democratic majority in the Virginia General Assembly. They also organized on a grassroots level in Georgia, helping to deliver a victories for President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.

If elected, McClellan would be the first Black woman to serve as governor of any state.

If you are interested in learning more about Care in Action, you can visit their website here.

To learn more about McClellan, you can view her website here.