Public Employee Press

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Labor's future: Latino leaders weigh in

By ALFREDO ALVARADO

Latino labor leaders from as far away as California convened in New York City Dec. 7 for a special day of dialogue on the strategic importance of Latino workers and the future of the labor movement.

“We must be warriors on behalf of working families,” said Miguel Contreras, keynote speaker and president of the Los Angeles Central Labor Council. “We have to raise the bar in terms of what we expect from elected officials.”

Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations sponsored the Latino Labor Leaders Roundtable. The all-day conference was moderated by José La Luz, who is on leave from his position as the Eastern Regional Director of AFSCME and currently a visiting professor at Cornell.

Community alliances stressed
Presentations were made by Ana Avendaño of the AFL-CIO, Guillermo Linares, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, and Maria Figueroa, Director of Labor and Industry Research at Cornell.

Mr. Contreras pointed out the importance of reaching out to non-union members and making strategic alliances with community groups. In Los Angeles, he said, unions fought alongside community college students and stopped increases in tuition costs. In Englewood, community groups and unions banded together and prevented Wal-Mart from building a new mega-store.

Guillermo Linares also stressed the need for coalitions among unions and community groups. He recalled the assistance he received from Local 372 when he first ran for a school board post. “Local 372 helped me get on the ballot,” said Mr. Linares, who eventually won and went on to represent Washington Heights/Inwood in the City Council for 10 years.

Referring to the growing debate on the current state of the labor movement, Mr. La Luz said, “Latinos have a major stake in those issues. It’s important to insert a Latino voice into these discussions. Unions have to figure out how to grow, how to fight and how to mobilize the membership around issues like immigration.”

Santos Crespo, vice president of School Employees Local 372, also attended the all-day session. “It was a very positive conference,” he said. “It’s something that hasn’t been done in a long time and it’s important to be a part of the AFL-CIO’s discussion on the revitalization of the labor movement.”

Carmen Flores, vice-chair of Local 1549’s Social Services Chapter, was impressed with the presentations. “Miguel Contreras came all the way from Los Angeles to share with us ideas on how to engage others and organize effectively,” said Ms. Flores, a Clerical Associate II. “It’s very inspiring to meet these labor leaders who have been in the struggle for so long and still have that passion and commitment.”

The presentations and dialogue were recorded to document and disseminate the suggestions and recommendations that were discussed. The sponsors of the conference hope that the ideas presented will provide another dimension to the current debate within the AFL-CIO about the future of the labor movement.