I previously posted on this story this past spring—a wealthy Indian couple in Muttontown, Long Island were accused of keeping their domestic workers enslaved, and subjecting them to physical and psychological abuse.  The story broke when workers, both middle-aged women from Indonesia, escaped and a neighbor called 911.

Yesterday, the Sabhnani couple of Long Island was found guilty of forced labor and involuntary servitude, among other counts, and could be sentenced to up to 40 years. 

The enslavement of trafficked workers in the U.S. is little-known but scarily frequent.  Although most of us think of trafficking and forced labor involving prostitution, there are countless men and women enslaved in other industries.  The Coalition of Immokalee workers, an organization that has been fighting slavery in the agricultural industry for many years, recently broke a story of workers enslaved as tomato harvesters.  I also previously posted on H-2B workers being held in captivity in Mississippi by a marine fabrication company.  Clearly, slavery is alive and well in this country.

Domestic Workers United successfully pushed for a Domestic Workers’ “Bill of Rights” in New York City, and is now taking its campaign to the New York State Assembly.  The bill would enforce the right to a living wage, health care, overtime pay, and would prohibit trafficking.  Trafficked workers are some of the most vulnerable people in our society, and their work is almost never acknowledged.  Yet every time we walk across a clean floor, or we eat a delicious salad, or wear a new pair of shoes, there’s a good chance slave labor and/or trafficking was involved.