{"id":34320,"date":"2016-03-03T23:26:07","date_gmt":"2016-03-04T05:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=34320"},"modified":"2016-03-08T08:09:20","modified_gmt":"2016-03-08T14:09:20","slug":"community-performances-raise-awareness-for-the-illinois-domestic-workers-bill-of-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/community-performances-raise-awareness-for-the-illinois-domestic-workers-bill-of-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"Community performances raise awareness for the Illinois Domestic Workers Bill of Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jenny G. Zhang<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cComing, Mr. King!\u201d the caregiver calls to her bedridden employer. <\/p>\n

His bell chimes insistently, joining the cacophony of shrill rings from her cell phone and the landline. <\/p>\n

Ding!<\/em> \u2013 her family in the Philippines \u2013 ding!<\/em> \u2013 requests for more money \u2013 ding!<\/em> \u2013 her sick father \u2013 ding!<\/em> \u2013 Mr. King ringing for assistance \u2013 ding! ding! ding!<\/em><\/p>\n

The simultaneous demands, bearing down on her from all sides, overwhelm the caregiver. She freezes in place, paralyzed by the immense pressure. The noises come faster and louder, faster and louder.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The sounds fade, the stage lights dim and the audience applauds enthusiastically. They recognize in the act many of their own lives as domestic workers.<\/p>\n

The play \u201cCaregiver,\u201d written by Lorely Trinidad-Ontal, and the musical \u201cPiketlayn Cantata,\u201d written by Joi Barrios-Leblanc, are being presented as a double feature by the Chicago-based Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment<\/a> (AFIRE) and community arts organization Circa Pintig<\/a>. The organizations hope to raise awareness for the Illinois Domestic Workers Bill of Rights<\/a>, also known as House Bill (HB) 1288, which moved out of the state House of Representatives and into the Senate last May.<\/p>\n

U.S. domestic workers, one-third of whom are immigrants, according to a 2012 study by the Economic Policy Institute<\/a>, are excluded from many of the labor protections that extend to other workers.<\/p>\n

If passed, the bill would amend existing laws to include domestic workers, granting them minimum wage, at least one day of rest per week, pay for all work hours and protection from harassment in the workplace.<\/p>\n

The struggles of domestic workers are illustrated even in the production of \u201cCaregiver\u201d and \u201cPiketlayn Cantata,\u201d according to Circa Pintig executive director Angela Mascarenas.<\/p>\n

The plan, she said, was to cast actual Filipina caregivers as the leading characters, but one of the caregivers wasn\u2019t allowed by her employer to have a single day off in February.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s illegal!\u201d said Mascarenas, who was production manager and adapted the original scripts for the performance. \u201cThis is the reason we need the bill passed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"daniel
Sen. Daniel Biss shows his support for HB 1288 with cast members and volunteers on February 28. (Jenny G. Zhang\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to AFIRE executive director Michael Aguhar, HB 1288 may be put to the vote in March. Out of the 59 state senators, the bill tentatively has the support of 31 legislators. While that number surpasses the majority of 30 senators needed to pass the bill, AFIRE and other community organizers are working to solidify support in the Senate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe conversation that we\u2019re having this afternoon is part of an effort that I think is essential, which is to build support from the outside to pressure senators to be ready to vote for this bill,\u201d said state Sen. Daniel Biss, one of the 20 original sponsors of HB 1288, before the afternoon performance on February 28.<\/p>\n

He urged supporters to push forcefully in order to combat the troubles plaguing Springfield, including the lack of budget and the impasse between Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrats in the legislature.<\/p>\n

None of the senators who voted against the bill during the Aug. 19, 2015 Senate committee hearing were available for comment before publication.<\/p>\n

Aguhar said he hopes that seeing \u201cCaregiver\u201d and \u201cPiketlayn Cantata\u201d makes audience members and others recognize the merit of domestic workers\u2019 roles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is dignity and respect in this work,\u201d he said. \u201cThis kind of work has value.\u201d<\/p>\n

Circa Pintig will hold one final performance of \u201cCaregiver\u201d and \u201cPiketlayn Cantata,\u201d directed by Levi Aliposa, at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 5 in the Moooh Dulce Gallery.<\/em><\/p>\n

Photo at top: A caregiver, played by Divina Calo, aids her bedridden employer in the play \u201cCaregiver.\u201d (Jenny G. Zhang\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jenny G. Zhang \u201cComing, Mr. King!\u201d the caregiver calls to her bedridden employer. His bell chimes insistently, joining the cacophony of shrill rings from her cell phone and the landline. Ding! \u2013 her family in the Philippines \u2013 ding! \u2013 requests for more money \u2013 ding! \u2013 her sick father \u2013 ding! \u2013 Mr. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":213,"featured_media":34332,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,675,585],"tags":[1947,1946,1950,1672,1948,1949],"class_list":["post-34320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-social-justice","category-winter-2016","tag-caregivers","tag-domestic-workers","tag-illinois-domestic-workers-bill-of-rights","tag-musical","tag-performance","tag-play"],"yoast_head":"\nCommunity performances raise awareness for the Illinois Domestic Workers Bill of Rights - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/community-performances-raise-awareness-for-the-illinois-domestic-workers-bill-of-rights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Community performances raise awareness for the Illinois Domestic Workers Bill of Rights - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Jenny G. Zhang \u201cComing, Mr. King!\u201d the caregiver calls to her bedridden employer. His bell chimes insistently, joining the cacophony of shrill rings from her cell phone and the landline. 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