Oral Histories

Interview of Martha Garrido

Interviewed for the UCLA Center for the Study of Women’s Chemical Entanglements: Oral Histories of Environmental Illness series. From Peru, Martha Garrido is a Latina woman and a care worker living in San Francisco. She is a member of the California Domestic Workers Coalition. She describes the health effects of working in the industry of domestic care.
Series:
Chemical Entanglements: Oral Histories of Environmental Illness
Topic:
Social Movements
Environmental Illness
Biographical Note:
Interviewed for the UCLA Center for the Study of Women’s Chemical Entanglements: Oral Histories of Environmental Illness series. From Peru, Martha Garrido is a Latina woman and a care worker living in San Francisco. She is a member of the California Domestic Workers Coalition. She describes the health effects of working in the industry of domestic care.
Interviewer:
Encinas, Abraham
Interviewee:
Garrido, Martha
Persons Present:
Garrido and Encinas
Place Conducted:
The interview was conducted using the Zoom video conferencing platform.
Supporting Documents:
Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library’s Center for Oral History Research.
Interviewer Background and Preparation:
This interview was conducted by Abraham Encinas, a graduate student researcher, for the Center for the Study of Women, and PhD student in English, UCLA. Abraham’s dissertation focuses on novels of dictatorship in 20th century Latinx and Asian American literature.
Processing of Interview:
The interviewer prepared for the interview by reading a pre-interview questionnaire completed by the narrator.
Length:
.75 hrs
Language:
English
Copyright:
Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.
Audio:
Series Statement:
Chemical Entanglements: Oral Histories of Environmental Illness is a collection of interviews with over seventy individuals living in the U.S. and Canada whose family history, occupation, art practice, or activism have brought them into direct contact with illness experience and disability related to chronic, low-dose exposure to toxicant chemicals. The procurement of this collection (from March 2019 through September 2020) was sponsored by the UCLA Center for the Study of Women under the directorship of Rachel C. Lee, with interviews conducted by six undergraduates, five graduate students, two career staff, and two faculty members at CSW.
Born in Lima, Peru in 1962—Currently lives in San Francisco and works in housekeeping and caretaking for elderly individuals—Discusses family background and happy childhood--Immigrates to the U.S. in 2015, which proves challenging because she misses her home, children, and mother in Peru—Difficulty adapting to life in the U.S., but the Women’s Collective proves to be a significant resource—Physical effects of housekeeping work caused by labor and chemicals—Does not have health insurance as medical attention is too costly in the U.S.—Frequently suffers from migraines—Uses green products both at home and at work—Describes work as caretaker for the elderly—Discusses work with the CA Domestic Workers Coalition and efforts to pass AB 2314 and SB 1257 and secure healthcare for and protect rights of domestic workers—Negative effect of coronavirus pandemic on securing work—Discusses an incident in which she had to resort to using Clorox to clean an extremely dirty building—Details work as co-coordinator and representative with the Coalition and traveling to events held in different states—Resources offered by the Collective and the Coalition regardless of immigration status.