Whitman's ex-maid emerges as symbol

Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer
San Francisco Chronicle October 10, 2010 04:00 AM

When she came forward as an undocumented Mexican immigrant to challenge the billionaire who was her boss for nine years, Nicandra Santillan Diaz not only helped undermine the carefully crafted message behind Meg Whitman's gubernatorial campaign but may have emerged as one of its most enduring images.

In an election year when illegal immigration has enraged conservatives from Florida and Arizona to California, the televised testimony of the Union City domestic worker - in which she recounted her firing by the former eBay CEO - made her a galvanizing figure to those on both sides of the volatile issue.

From San Francisco to Los Angeles this week, undocumented domestic and farm workers - some of them holding signs proclaiming "I am Nicky" - held demonstrations to express solidarity with Diaz. They said her statement that Whitman was "throwing me away like a piece of garbage" when she asked for help becoming a legal citizen made her the face of a new movement for the workplace rights of the undocumented.
'A national symbol'

"She is becoming a national symbol," said labor leader Dolores Huerta, co-founder with Cesar Chavez of the United Farm Workers. Huerta called Diaz's actions courageous and said her story could be a catalyst for reform at the state and national levels.

Immigrant rights activist Nativo Lopez, president of the Mexican American Political Association, said, "Nicky has become the David in the campaign of Goliath - and, I believe, will ultimately be the demise of Meg Whitman."

But on the right, conservatives have seized on Diaz's use of fraudulent documents - and called for immigration officials to arrest and even deport her.

Her story prompted Fox News host Bill O'Reilly to suggest that Diaz is the poster woman for millions of undocumented people who flout the law.

"What is Homeland Security and ICE going to do about her?" he demanded of the agency's chief, Janet Napolitano last week. Napolitano said she would "seriously" look into the matter.

Diaz claims the Republican candidate knew she was an undocumented immigrant and ignored a government request to check into her Social Security number. Diaz has filed a claim alleging that Whitman didn't pay for all the hours or mileage she was owed.

Whitman has said she hired Diaz through an employment agency and believed her documentation to be valid. When she learned otherwise, she said, she had no choice but to fire Diaz, whom she said had been "like a member of the family." She has said that Diaz is part of a political smear campaign by Democrats.
Ammiano's bill

But Democratic state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco said public debate of the Diaz case bolsters his efforts to give California's domestic workers, who are not protected by federal wage and hour laws, "long overdue" protections on the job.

His Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, which mirrors legislation passed recently in New York state, would entitle workers such as Diaz to overtime pay, mandated rest periods, paid holidays, vacation and sick days - and 14 days notice before they can be fired.

"Meg Whitman's treatment of Nicky Diaz is just the tip of the iceberg of a national problem," he said, calling the bill a "first step toward improving the rights of the people who are the foundation of our society and yet get so little reward."

With the gubernatorial campaign between Whitman and Democrat Jerry Brown heading into its third and final debate Tuesday, the former eBay CEO put another $2.5 million of her own money into her campaign last week, bringing her total personal investment in the race to $121.5 million - and total campaign spending to a record-shattering $150 million.

As California voters begin casting mail ballots, a hearing on the former maid's claim for $6,210 in back wages and mileage has been scheduled for Oct. 20, less than two weeks before the Nov. 2 election.


'Got paid $23 an hour'

"People realize she got paid $23 an hour - three times the minimum wage - and she worked just 15 hours a week," he said. Moreover, many Latinos believe "there are certain things you can't do if you're looking to get legal in the U.S.; you can't use fake documents," he said. "That's a disqualifier."

But Lisa Garcia Bedolla, associate professor of education at UC Berkeley and author of the book "Latino Politics," said Diaz's story is as much about the personal as the political because it conflicts with Whitman's image as an inspiring boss and a decisive leader.

Although Whitman said Diaz was "part of the family," Latino voters will wonder why "someone with (Whitman's) privilege, her resources and her tremendous luck did not think she should use any of those gifts to help the person who cleaned her toilets for nine years," she said.

The story also underscores a challenge for Whitman: She must get at least 35 percent of the Latino vote, in a state where Democrats hold a 2.3 million voter advantage over Republicans, to become the next governor.

Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice, an immigration reform group, said the national debate over immigration - and both major parties' response to it - is "clearly having a major effect on Latino mobilization efforts."
The big question

"The $1 million question for 2010 will be whether Latinos' recent uptick in enthusiasm for Democrats - and continued view of Republicans as anti-immigrant - supersedes traditionally low levels of Latino turnout in midterm elections," said Sharry.

Guillermina Castellanos, a former domestic worker and fellow at La Raza Centro Legal in San Francisco - whose Women's Collective has assisted hundreds of domestics like Diaz - said politicians at every level should be on notice that Diaz has "opened a Pandora's box."

"Nicky Diaz has put a light on this issue," she said, "and in her story, we hear the voice of millions of other women like her."

E-mail Carla Marinucci at cmarinucci@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle


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