Domestic Work and Interdependence

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Domestic Work and Interdependence: The Devastating Impact of the LA Wildfires on Immigrant Domestic Workers

By Da In Choi, Thinking Gender 2025 Conference Coordinator

Domestic workers have long taught us that our lives are interconnected. Individualism is a myth. The air that we breathe, food that nourishes us, and warm buildings that house us—they cannot be taken for granted. Climate change and neoliberal economy increasingly render air, nourishment, and housing not as basic rights that we share, but as privatized items to be bought and sold. Resisting the tear that threatens the social fabric of our lives, immigrant workers provide care that remind us why it is important to understand interdependence.

On January 7, 2025, I saw red flames of fires rising over tall palm trees and houses against the black sky. I could see white-gray smoke billowing, inching closer and closer to the houses from the mountains. The days that followed contained heavy losses. So many lost their homes. Home: even though mainstream media defined losses in terms of speculative real estate value, home is so much more than what money can measure. Home, a place of dwelling: sedimented memories of love and laughter with loved ones. Home, a place of dreams: for many Black working-class communities in Altadena, home was materialization of aspirations over generations. In this unequal structure of society that we live in, with insurance companies nullifying claims and large corporations eyeing disasters as opportunities to turn greater profit, opportunities to re-build feel bleak and barren.

Yet, immigrant workers have already risen to the occasion to re-build. Articles and news media revealed how state infrastructures failed to protect people, exacerbating existing inequalities. Los Angeles is already a fire-prone area, but as urban historian Mike Davis points out, stopping the Indigenous tradition of controlled fires and building luxury homes intensified the scale of wildfires. Incarcerated people were at the forefront putting out fires, paid below minimum wage and with minimal protection, while privatized firefighters prioritized wealthier areas. The water system could not maintain high water pressure and failed. One domestic worker shared how their parents taught them to help those who normally don’t receive attention in society. Her words, featured in an NPR article, show her awareness of systemic abandonment: the media and the state pay attention to the loss of wealth and speculative value, so many vulnerable workers help one another.

Domestic workers have also been helping their employers’ neighborhoods in Pacific Palisades and Altadena. For many, the households they work for also bore a meaning of home: it provided a means to dream of social mobility, as wages helped some workers to pay for mortgages and secure educational opportunities for their children. There was a sense of attachment to the place and memories embedded there: long hours spent working, human connections made, and fond memories of employers’ children. Wildfires affected thousands of homes, which devastated immigrant working communities who lost their jobs and valuable social networks. In this time of distress, workers also took large bags of supplies to give to their employers.

Cleaning up after the fires is dangerous. Domestic workers who provide essential labor everyday continue to take care of our built and living environment to ensure our safety. However, there is lack of information and safety protocols from the state to protect workers who provide vital care labor. Community organizations created guidelines on the best cleaning practices for safety to be shared widely.

Immigrant domestic workers’ stories remind us of the urgency of remembering interdependence. Workers who face the greatest precarity under the neoliberal regime and anti-immigrant government are also the ones who stepped up to help. On a daily basis, domestic workers provide essential care labor that makes survival of families possible. During times of need, as domestic workers so eloquently put it, we are reminded that we are not alone. Our lives are interconnected: in pain, joy, loss, and generosity.

As we approach the date of the 2025 Thinking Gender conference and its theme on “Gendered Labors and Transnational Solidarities,” I wanted to take the time to think about the foundational value of domestic work, and how we can participate in the ongoing struggles of immigrant domestic workers to preserve the dignity of our lives and existence.

Please consider donating to the following organizations that do amazing work supporting domestic workers:

I hope you will join us to hear more about this topic at the 2025 Thinking Gender Conference on March 7, 2025!

Register here.