The Exploitation of Another Latina Domestic Service Worker: Mildred Patricia Baena

 
As everyone now knows, at least one California Governor ran into controversy earlier this week with respect to a domestic servive worker.  And the gory details — his wife and mistress both had overlapping pregnancies bearing his child, to name one example — it makes Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman’s harsh treatment of a long-time domestic service worker, which hit the presses and blogospheres in the heat of the fall campaign, seem tame by controversy comparisons.

Fox News Latino reports that Latinos are up in arms over the response to the news that Mildred Patricia Beana, an immigrant from Guatemala and long-time domestic service worker in the Governator/Maria Shriver home, is the mother of the former governor’s son.  Many celebrity/entertainmnt blogs have posted pictures of Baena from her MySpace page.  A number of the comments to the stories about Baena have been crude, mean, sexist, and worse.  Some Latinos have come to Baena’s defense.

For a thoughtful analysis of the entire Scwarzenegger/Baena/Shriver matter in its larger context, see Earl Ofari Hutchinson’s analysis on American Chronicle.

As Vicki Ruiz, Mary Romero, and others have written, domestic service workers — and especially women of color — are often exploted and disposed of in the workplace.  The Governor’s relationship with Mildred Patricia Baena, as well as Meg Whitman’s quick disposal of Nicky Diaz, are two recent examples that are little more than the tip of the iceberg.

KJ