Home care worker and NMASS member Margarita Benedict gave testimony this month to The New York State Community Commission on Reparations Remedies. Established by legislation, the Commission examines the history of slavery in New York and its lasting effects, as well as patterns of racial discrimination against people of African descent. It reports findings and gives recommendations to the Governor and Legislature. Read Margarita’s testimony here:

My name is Margarita Benedict. I represent the No More 24! / Ain’t I a Woman?! Campaign. In the 13 years I worked as a home care worker, the agency never assigned me anything other than 24-hour shifts. Through the years working as a home attendant, l’ve thought about working fewer hours, but never protested these abusive shifts. Fear was the reason. I was driven, solely, by the desire to work for my children in Honduras, and I did everything possible to bring them to the U.S. to have a better life. For me, this meant sucking up the 24-hour shifts knowing deep down this hurts.

As a Black Garifuna woman from Honduras, I say the 24-hour shifts are racist and violent to our bodies. The agencies don’t value our lives! They only pay us for 13 of the 24 hours. They profit from the damage the 24-hour shifts have done to our bodies and our families. They take advantage of us because we are Black, immigrants, and women. They take advantage of our situation as immigrant women in need of jobs to help our families.

24-hour shifts feel like being in prison for a crime you didn’t commit. You’re constantly in the patient’s home, with many sleepless nights. Even though l am no longer working, my sleep is wrecked. The 24-hour shifts haunt me to this day. I frequently wake up startled from dreams that I am in my patient’s home. Now my health is worsening as a result of working 24-hour shifts 4 days per week for 13 years. I can’t sit or stand for long periods because of the pain. I have depression and high blood pressure. Doctors tell me it’s a sciatic nerve problem, and I take prescription medication to manage the pain in my knees, legs, and back. I also get dizzy, and now I have to use a cane for support.

Only in New York City do we have a 24-hour workday. It is shameful that a city that purports to honor and respect immigrant workers is, in fact, home to modern-day slavery. As City Council speaker, mayoral candidate Adrienne Adams has for more than 2 years blocked a bill that would end the 24-hour workday. The racist violence of 24-hour shifts must be stopped. The 24 shifts are killing us! We are human beings, and our bodies need rest and to spend time with our families. That’s why we must abolish the 24-hour workday! I hope this Commission will join home care workers fighting to end this legacy of slavery.