Nation Conversations: Emily Douglas and Bryce Covert on the Childcare Dilemma
  • July 1, 2011

Nation Conversations: Emily Douglas and Bryce Covert on the Childcare Dilemma

Nation Conversations: Emily Douglas and Bryce Covert on the Childcare Dilemma

Domestic workers need rights—but can the families that employ them afford what they’ll cost?

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Domestic workers need rights—but can the families that employ them afford what they’ll cost?

Domestic workers have eternally been denied basic labor rights—paid sick leave and vacation time, redress against harassment, and overtime pay. Recently, New York passed the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights, granting these basic rights and further formalizing domestic labor. However, this is only one issue on a two-sided coin; many working families are unable to find affordable, quality childcare and now can’t afford to the pay overtime or supplementary childcare required for a domestic worker.

Nation contributor Bryce Covert joins web editor Emily Douglas on this Nation Conversations to discuss this dilemma, and the necessity of government subsidies. Read Bryce’s piece for TheNation.com on this subject.

Subscribe to Nation Conversations on iTunes for exclusive audio of Nation forums, events. seminars and salons.

—Anna Lekas Miller

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Editor and Publisher, The Nation

The Nation Founded by abolitionists in 1865, The Nation has chronicled the breadth and depth of political and cultural life, from the debut of the telegraph to the rise of Twitter, serving as a critical, independent, and progressive voice in American journalism.


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