On June 8th and 9th the Center for Workers’ Rights joined other community based organizations for the Coalition of Low-Wage Immigrant Workers Advocates (CLIWA) retreat at UCLA’s Law School campus.
This year’s retreat centered around best practices for engaging with and organizing workers and lessons learned on how to best advocate for the improvement of worker protections. We heard from outstanding leaders in the worker justice space and had engaging discussions with panelists.
CLIWA’s mission is to facilitate worker empowerment and end exploitation in low-wage targeted industries. The coalition is composed of more than 50 non-profit legal services organizations and worker centers in California who advocate for the rights of low-wage workers, including immigrant workers.
Advocates in attendance shared the wins they’ve been able to come by such as citations to employers in violation of minimum wage requirements, workers granted deferred action during investigations, and legislation moving forward to increase paid sick days for working families. Being in a room full of labor rights champions and sharing our collective wins, reinvigorated the CWR staff in attendance.
We were lucky to have helped lead CLIWA over the last several years and create opportunities for our team and others to meet and engage with new and longstanding worker advocates who share our vision and mission. Coalitions, such as CLIWA, provide an opportunity to build connections with other organizations across the state and build upon all of our individual strengths. If you are interested in collaborating with the Center on issues regarding workers’ rights or having your organization join CLIWA please email us at info@rightscenter.org or call our office at 916-905-5857