Central Avenue Dance Ensemble educates and entertains

February 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment


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Central Avenue Dance Ensemble founder Chester Whitmore

Central Avenue remains synonymous with L.A.’s thriving jazz and rhythm and blues scene of the mid twentieth century.

Luminaries like Lionel Hampton and Charles Mingus defined the sounds emanating from the heart of the African-American community.

Enter Central Avenue Dance Ensemble, founded in 2003 by celebrated dancer Chester Whitmore.

“A long time ago we used to be inside of a church on 62nd and Normandie, and it had a giant ballroom in it. We used to do this thing called ‘Swinging in the Hood’ once a month, and do ballroom and swing with a live big band.”

Chester Whitmore is a choreographer, instructor, historian and musician who has played with the Count Basie Orchestra. His company Black Ballet Jazz specialized in Afro-American vernacular dance and toured the world for 15 years.

“One of the amazing things about Chester is he’s not just into teaching you dance steps, but also the history,” said Central Avenue’s Managing Director Ron Parker. “Where this happened? Who was involved?”

One of Central Avenue Dance Ensemble’s proudest accomplishments is a revival of a two-hour, multimedia show, “The History of Black Dance in America.” The first act opens in Africa and then journeys to the New World, and by the time the curtain closes we’ve seen dances from the early 1800s to the present day. Some of these dances include Walking the Dog in the early 1900s, Lindy Hop in the ‘30s, Big Apple in the ‘40s, Swing in the ‘50s and early ‘60s, and one of my favorites, Charleston in the 1920s.

Whitmore points to popular TV shows like “Dancing With the Stars” and “America’s Best Dance Crew” for spurring a renewed interest in dance. “You have to have the new stuff, but they got to know where it comes from,” he said. “We have to tell them about a foundation.,”

Central Avenue Dance Ensemble performs for high schools, hosts workshops and residencies and offers classes and demonstrations.

Filed Under: Arts Tagged With: , , , ,

Los Angeles Urban League to honor Villaraigosa, others

February 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment


imageAs Black History Month draws to a close, one group in South Los Angeles is just starting a celebration of the future of African Americans.

At a private event kick-off to be held Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Urban League will announce four community leaders who will be honored as “Enduring Legacies” for their contribution to African Americans and other minority groups in Los Angeles.

“Months like Black History Month are really important to preserve heritage as we come together in a melting pot society,” said Dannete Wilkerson, event director for the LAUL. “The freedom we have in America is very extensive … but there are still some imbalances that we need to pay attention to.”

The Urban League aims to honor individuals that it feels give proper focus to those imbalances.

This year’s honorees include Virgil Roberts, an entertainment lawyer and education advocate, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Robert Billingslea, corporate director of urban affairs at Walt Disney Co., and Luis Lainer, co-founder of Bet Tzedek, a nonprofit organization offering legal services to low-income people.

“Each of them are being honored to signify that they stand for the epitome of what we try to do at the league,” Wilkerson said. “They represent community leadership and continued effort in honoring the culture and community of the groups they represent.”

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Whitney M. Young (far left) during a civil rights march in D.C.

The recognitions will be formally handed out at an annual celebration on April 25, honoring Whitney M. Young, Jr., an American civil-rights activist who played a large role in the foundation of the Los Angeles Urban League.

“(Young) really leveled the playing field for African Americans in Los Angeles,” Wilkerson said. “We try to honor people who share the same spirit and hope for equality.”

The LAUL will also be announcing an exhibit honoring 90 different organizations and community leaders in Los Angeles that have impacted the African American community, called “The 90 That Built LA.”

The exhibit will be held at the Museum of African American Art located on the third floor of the Macy’s department store at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza and will open in the fall.

“The African American community, and these organizations in particular, have made significant contributions to the city of Los Angeles and we want to honor that,” Wilkerson said.

The 90 exhibit subjects were selected by the league and voted on by community members. They will be announced during the summer.

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Councilman Parks looking to better Neighborhood Councils

February 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment


imageTen years ago the Neighborhood Council system began to try to make city call more responsive to all parts of the city. Volunteers from all over Los Angeles dedicate their own time to tackling problems in their neighborhoods. They are people like Iona Diggs, who is on Chair of the Voices of 90037. Diggs was recently interviewed by Journalist Melissa Leu.

“The reason I’m on there is because I’m dedicated to improving our neighborhood because I care,” Diggs said. “I care about where I live, I care about the people in the neighborhood.”

The councils were started to increase community participation in political processes, but they have faced problems. That’s why 8th district Councilmember Bernard Parks is hosting a series of five meetings throughout the city. Parks was recently named the chair of the Educations and Neighborhoods committee, which oversees neighborhood councils.

“As long as there are concerns out there about how well they spend money, and are the elections fair and was it truly stakeholders that were voting and elected the board members. If there are those outstanding issues, then that kind of gives an excuse for them to not be taken seriously,” said Dennis Gleason, Park’s Press Deputy. “So he’s really hoping that he’ll be able to strengthen the system to they can really have a stronger role in the LA city government.”

Sometimes neighborhood councils have a hard time simply functioning and getting enough people to the meetings. Linda Lucks is on the Board of Neighborhood Commissions and also President of the neighborhood council. She is hoping the meetings address these issues.

“It’s really hard for grassroots organization like neighborhood councils to function and to grow and to be affective. We need help in that regard and in my opinion, tightening up the rules. There needs to be some standardization and conformity to make it easier for people to function on the same page.”

In Los Angeles, 15 council members represent 4 million citizens, which breaks down to 250,000 people per councilmember. Because of this, 8th district Press Deputy Gleason says these neighborhood councils are essential.

“They really help people zero in on what’s important to the community and what needs to be paid attention to,” Gleason said.

John F. John formerly served on the Griffith Park Neighborhood council and has been active in other councils.

“It’s important for neighborhood activists to attend Councilmember Parks outreach meetings because he’s a new Chairman of this committee and we want to impress upon him the importance of neighborhood council,” John said.

Chair of the Voices Iona Diggs says her dedication keeps her going to the meetings.

“I’m committed to what I started and that’s in helping our neighbors,” Diggs said. “We are having problems getting people committed and out. We’re telling people, don’t you care about your neighborhood, don’t you care about the things in your neighborhood?”

After they get comments from the meetings, Parks says he will come up with motions to bring changes to the neighborhood council system.

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: , , ,

Vital recycling centers in trouble

February 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment


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The cheerful facade of the G & P Recycling center has graced West Jefferson Boulevard for six years. They’ve seen a recent downturn in customers. Workers say before they’d serve 250 customers a day; these days they see only about 130.

G & P Recycling center, located on West Jefferson Boulevard, is hard to miss. It’s certainly a sight: corrugated metal walls are painted shades of neon yellow and turquoise. And then there’s the sound: an unmistakable noise of bees buzzing happily around empty soda cans and the metallic crunch of aluminum cans and the shattering of glass bottles.

It’s also hard to miss Edwood Deaver. He’s a familiar sight here. 51-year-old Deaver rolls two big grey buckets of cans into the center four times a day, seven days a week.

“This is how I live,” said Deaver, “so it’s a job for me.”

Growing up on a farm in North Carolina, Deaver never imagined he would be here.

“Never in my life would I ever have thought I’d be homeless or had to do recycling. But you never know. I would have never guessed it, but here I am,” said Deaver.

Deaver says, tired of small-town life, he joined the military straight out of high school.

“I was 18,” recalled Deaver. “I didn’t see a future and I wanted to go to college.”

He served for 17 years, until his career was ended abruptly. In 2002, he was shot in the head and the chest in Iraq. The bullet that grazed his brain was an injury he thought would take his life. Instead, it took his military career and slurred his southern lilt.

“Because I’m the sole survivor of my family and I didn’t have anywhere to go,” said Deaver.

He said he applied to almost 70 jobs but, with the economic crash, he was on the street within a year. Deaver described his “lowest low”:

“One morning, I’m drinking a cup of coffee, in a styrofoam cup,” said Deaver. “The police pulls up and says, ‘What are you drinking?’ He opens up the lid and just throws the cup.”

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Edwood Deaver has made a full-time job out of recycling. He was in the military for 17 years before a brain injury changed his life. He says recycling has enabled him to rent an apartment.

That was his breakfast that morning. It’s this event that prompted Deaver to start recycling, and he says he has never looked back. He wakes up at 5:30 in the morning and visits up to forty locations a day to collect recyclables. He only takes what he can drag by hand. By nightfall he says he’s exhausted, but he usually has forty dollars in his pocket.

Although G & P is a lifeline for many, workers at the recycling center say with the downturn in the economy, business has also decreased.

“Starting last year, it just started dropping, dropping. This year has been pretty bad,” said Cesar Lopez, a cashier at G & P.

Workers say the number of recycling centers in the area has doubled in recent years–meaning more competition for customers. Lopez said G & P may have to lay off 2 of its 6 workers, which worries him. He has a three-year-old daughter.

“We kind of depend on the people,” said Lopez. “If they don’t come in, we don’t get paid our hours. Before, a good day we’d see 250 people, these days you’re only seeing 130 customers a day.”

Deaver has also noticed an increase in competition. He says he used to make three times more than he currently does every day. He’s also noticed that two other recycling centers have opened up near where he lives. But convenient or not, he’s sticking with G & P.

“I like the people,” said Deaver. “They’ve always been friendly, good, trying to help you. They tend to watch out for you here. It helps me move forward.”

Move forward, into an apartment. Deaver started renting his own place six years ago with the money he made from G & P.

“It was a big change,” said Deaver. “I was so thrilled I didn’t even know what to do.”

He says that first night: “I went and bought a big old pizza. Sat down and watched TV.”

He said sometimes people look down at him as he rummages for recyclables, but it’s a real job that’s brought him real success.

“Sometimes I’ll sit on a bench across the street from my apartment and just look at it.” said Deaver. “I did that. It’s a good feeling.”

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: , , ,

Relative caregivers fight for their foster youth

February 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment


By Rebekah Valencia, Staff Reporter

imageWhen Deanne D’Antignac received the call asking if she would care for her niece, she said “yes.” The only other option was to turn her over to strangers. She did not know that the care of one niece would turn into permanent legal guardianship of three nieces and the sacrifice of her career and financial security.

Data from the Community Coalition South Los Angeles shows that D’Antignac is one of 2,500 relatives in South L.A. who take in family members, and one of 2.5 million relative caregivers nationwide. These caregivers say they do not receive the same support as other foster care providers, and have little to no preparation, guidance, or resources.

At a town hall meeting in South L.A. on February 25, relative caregivers shared their concerns with the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth.

The caucus is co-chaired by 33rd Congressional District Representative Karen Bass (D-CA) and Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA), who both participated on the Congressional panel along with Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA). South L.A. was the first stop on a national listening tour to hear from youth and families about what is working in the foster care system and what needs to be improved.

On one panel, D’Antignac shared her story and the unique struggles of relative caregivers, saying that the majority of these relatives have no warning that the next day they will become parents.

image“When I received the phone calls, I did not have time to prepare like a foster parent would. This is not a job that I applied for; and early on, I did not receive money or training for them,” said D’Antignac, who had to quit her job as a physician’s assistant to care for her three nieces.

Edgar Campos, organizer for Community Coalition South LA, estimated that about 40% of relative caregivers in South L.A. live under the federal poverty line — $23,050 for a family of four. Multiple caregivers at the meeting testified that they were forced to give up work and use their own savings and retirement funds to provide for their child.

Debra Lee, another South L.A. relative caregiver, raised two of her grandchildren and is now raising her 3-year-old great-granddaughter. She says grandparents in this economy do not have sufficient funds for raising children.

“Long gone are the days where grandma had this big old pension,” said Lee. “We don’t have that pension. I was a working grandma when I got the kids.”

Not only do relative caregivers say they struggle to find funding for their foster children, but they also lack resources and counseling necessary to learn how to obtain essential services.

“The children usually come to relative care without any resources, without any funds and with no clothes. Just the child,” said D’Antignac.

The lack of resources can leave relative caregivers searching all over the city to find the services they need for their children.

image“It took a year to get services for my granddaughter; by then, she was darn near psychotic from not having medicine [for mental illness],” said Lee.

Relative caregivers in South L.A. are advocating for hubs inside the community where formal and informal relative caregivers can go to access mental health services and other resources.

They also continue to push for representation in Congress and in the courts. As the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth continues its tour around the country, Bass says that she wants to create a national movement to help move policy along on a national level.

Relative caregivers, hoping to contribute their voices to these policy changes, ask legislators to take ownership of foster youth. Representative Marino said he hopes that he and the other 41 members of the caucus can do just that.

“We will continue to take your message, our message, to Washington to protect the most valuable resource that we have. And that is our children—all of our children—on that you have our commitment,” said Marino.

Filed Under: Community, Featured Tagged With: , , ,

South LA mom faces 2nd murder charge

February 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment


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Valle (middle) with her two children, Marian (left) and Lindsay (right).

Prosecutors have added a second murder charge against a 32-year old Lorna Valle. She was initially charged on Friday, February 17 with murdering 1-year old Lindsay and trying to murder her older sister.

Her 5-year old daughter, Miriam Taque, died when was she taken off life support on Wednesday.

Prosecutors then amended the charges, which include the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders and two felony counts of assault on a child causing death. They have yet to decide if they will seek a death sentence.

Valle appeared in court on Friday morning, but her arraignment was postponed until March 15th. She remains in jail without bail.

Editor’s note: The older daughter was previously identified as Marian, but the LA Times reports the official death record from the coroner’s office lists her name as Miriam Taque.

Filed Under: Community Tagged With: , , ,

City redistricting battle may head to the courts

February 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment


Listen to an audio story from Annenberg Radio News:

After an eight-hour meeting, The Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Commission (LACCRC) approved a “Final Map Recommendation” just before midnight Wednesday on a vote of 16 to 5.

Los Angeles City Council Districts 8 and 9 will suffer dramatic changes to their borders under the newly approved district maps. Both will lose neighborhoods that are the economic engines of their districts.

CD-9, Jan Perry’s district, will lose its downtown constituency. CD-8, Parks’ district, will lose Leimert Park, a hub of black culture and commerce, and Baldwin Hills, a primarily black, middle-class neighborhood.

Without these neighborhoods, Districts 8 and 9 will be among the poorest of all LA City Council districts.

Also, the University of Southern California will be moved from CD-8 to CD-9. Why? Councilman Parks said he couldn’t identify a single community member who asked for that change, saying, “What I thought was amazing was that no one had come to the commission from either the 8th or the 9th district that live in that area or stakeholders saying that that should be moved”.

In fact, Parks accused the commission of drawing the maps before getting any community input:

“The real meetings were in secret. They just kind of placated the public by showing up and discussing or letting people talk.”

The Redistricting Commission’s website says there would be “at least 20 public hearings.” So far, 15 have been held during January and February of this year. Members of the public have also been able to submit their own maps via a form on the Commission’s website.

But the maps that were produced at the beginning of the redistricting process have not changed very much since then and now, despite citizen submissions and the public meetings. In Parks’ district, there were three meetings.

“They decided the maps were worthy of more weight than the public comment that was overwhelming in three meetings that said ‘Leave the 8th District alone.’”

Both Parks and Perry have said they think it’s payback because they didn’t support 10th Council District Representive Herb Wesson’s bid for City Council President. Said Parks, when asked about the allegation, “I”m too old to be punished. The issue is they’re punishing people that don’t need to be punished. So if their goal is to punish the community…These lines will be in place for 10 years. They’ve created two districts, the 8th and the 9th, with no resources and a bunch of poor people.”

Wesson, who won his bid for City Council President, stated in a recent LA Times article, that he has no personal motives for the redistricting moves. His press secretary, Edward Johnson, said he had no official comment.

Parks and Perry have pledged to file a lawsuit under the Voting Rights Act. The lawsuit will allege that the redistricting process failed to adequately incorporated community input. It will also claim that the districts are being re-drawn along racial lines, which is prohibited under the VRA unless studies are conducted which prove that voting is so strictly polarized by race that elections are not competitive.

The Redistricting Commisson will hold another meeting on February 29, 2012. Final approval is slated for March 1.

The new map is expected to be available for viewing on the LACCRC website by February 27th.

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: , ,

South LA neighborhood moves to action against prostitution

February 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment


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Tanya Stone protests the deterioration of her neighborhood. She fights for her children that are exposed to prostitution everyday.

Tanya Stone first noticed prostitution in her neighborhood about a year ago when she left for work at 6 a.m.

“We got kids to send to school… we don’t want to see that,” said Stone, 48, who lives near Western Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard.

Carrying a sign reading “End Slavery Now,” Stone was one of a small group of people protesting outside FAME Renaissance on Tuesday night, while more than 60 community residents and stakeholders gathered inside to discuss new initiatives against prostitution along Western Boulevard.

Organized by the LAPD and the Neighborhood Watch Against Prostitution, the meeting marked a tonal shift from informing neighborhood residents about the progress law enforcement and city officials are making against prostitution to offering ways the community can take action and get involved.

“Now, they’re coming on and saying, ‘What can we do?’” said LAPD Sgt. McGuyre, who heads the Southwest station’s vice unit, which handles prostitution-related crimes.

In 2011, LAPD Southwest made 300 prostitution-related arrests, a 39 percent increase from the previous year. About 40 percent of the total arrests were near 29th Street and Western Avenue.

We are “taking our community back as our community. We’re here to talk about how you can assist us,” said Tracy Hauter, LAPD senior lead officer for the Adams neighborhood. Hauter emphasized that the public comments portion of the meeting was not a “griping” session, but a time for those affected to make important suggestions.

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LAPD Captain Melissa Zak, CD 8 North Area Representative Cathy Davis, City Attorney Sharee Sanders, and LAPD Senior Lead Officer Tracy Haute answer community questions at the meeting on Tuesday night at FAME Renaissance.

D’Lita Miller, 37, hoped to see the community take a more preventative instead of punitive approach. At 15 years old, Miller became a prostitute to support herself. About a decade ago, she left the trade. She now works as a family support and outreach coordinator for Saving Innocence, a non-profit that rescues underage victims of sex trafficking.

“Let’s not approach them as enemies. Let’s approach them as people that need help,” Miller said.

The last major community meeting on prostitution was held in June 2011, but some residents complained they haven’t seen much happen since then.

Cathy Davis, North Area field deputy for Councilman Bernard Parks, said their offices have worked on increasing lighting and trimming trees, but that severe budget limitations have reduced staff and resources.

The city budget allows for 300 trees for each council district, which equates to about 50 trees for the North Area neighborhood.

In the 2011-2012 fiscal year, Parks’ office prioritized tree trimming on Hobart Boulevard between 29th Street and 30th Street based on community complaints. However, Davis could not give an exact date when the tree trimming would take place and offered only a June 30th deadline.

Parks’ office is also working on creating billboards to raise awareness of the problem. Chief of staff Bernard Parks Jr., invited the community to voice their ideas on the content of the advertisement.

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A protestor organizes against prostitution outside FAME Renaissance.

Other suggestions discussed were creating a website showcasing photos of johns, writing letters to johns if they’ve been spotted in a high-prostitution area, and putting up surveillance cameras and signs against prostitution.

Andrea Canty, education representative of the North Area Neighborhood Development Council however, stressed the need for less talk and more concrete results. NANDC covers the area between the 10 Freeway and Martin Luther King Boulevard from the 110 Freeway to Arlington Avenue.

“I wanted to see a plan of action [from the last meeting]… I wanted to see some tangibles,” said Canty, who hoped to use Tuesday’s meeting to recruit community members to join action committees.

Canty created the publicity and communication, tree trimming, surveillance, city services, church outreach and john letter writing committees to turn words into action.

“I have more confidence in the neighborhood,” Canty said. “We can make it happen because we are the ones who live here.”

David Chiu, who lives near Adams Boulevard and Western Avenue, felt encouraged by the meeting.

“It sounds like there’s an actual plan,” Chiu said.

LAPD and the Neighborhood Watch Against Prostitution plan to hold monthly meetings on the third Tuesday night. The next meeting is March 20 at 6:30pm at FAME Renaissance 1968 W. Adams Blvd.

Filed Under: Community Tagged With: , , , ,

OpEd: Why South LA councilmembers urge community to attend final redistricting commission meeting

February 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment


Letter from Bernard Parks:

Dear Friends,

Last Friday, the Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Commission released their latest draft map of the proposed new city council districts.

The Commission has proved, once again, that the numerous public hearings held throughout the city were a complete farce and intended only to give the illusion that the public had any say in the process.

When 74% of the public who gave testimony at the February 11th Commission hearing at West Angeles Church spoke in favor of keeping the current Eighth District boundaries why did the Commission decide to radically change the 8th, by removing all of Baldwin Hills, Baldwin Vista, Village Green and Leimert Park?

When 89% of the public who gave testimony at the hearing supported the current boundaries of the Ninth District, why did the Commission radically change the 9th by removing nearly all of downtown, adding USC, and transferring hundreds of residents to the 8th District?

The answer is becoming very clear: race. On-the-record comments from Commissioners and emails show that they are far more concerned about residents’ color of skin than about their opinions, their wishes, and the fabric of their communities.

This narrow-minded view that holds the voter in such low regard is not only backtracking on decades of progress in Los Angeles politics, it’s also a clear violation of the 1965 federal Voting Rights Act. According to the law, race can not be the sole factor in determining district boundaries. In order for race to be considered, there must be evidence shown of racially polarized voting. There has been no evidence presented that has shown racially polarized voting in any of the 15 city council districts in Los Angeles.

With the new map released Friday, there is no doubt that the Commission is arrogantly ignoring the will of the people, and also violating the Voting Rights Act.

This prompted Councilmember Jan Perry and I to send a letter to City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and Commission President Arturo Vargas detailing these violations of law and warning that the proposed maps will not hold up to legal challenges.

I encourage you to stand up for honest and open government and let the Commission know you will not tolerate narrow-minded racial politics that seek to divide communities in violation of the law.

TOMORROW the Redistricting Commission will hold what could be their final meeting, and they are expected to vote on the proposed maps. This may be your last chance to let them know what you think. Please attend!

Wednesday, February 22 – 4 PM
Los Angeles City Hall
200 N. Spring St.
Council Chamber – Room 340
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Comments can also be emailed to the commission at [email protected].

Respectfully,

BERNARD C. PARKS
Councilmember

Letter from Jan Perry:

Dear Friends,

Last Friday, the Los Angeles Redistricting Commission released their latest draft map of the proposed new city council districts.

The new proposed maps further disenfranchise the people of the Great 9th District. They do not reflect public testimony nor do they respect historic boundaries, coalition building, or common sense. Instead, specific plans have been cut in half, the fashion district has been severed from the manufacturing sector along the Alameda Corridor, the Figueroa corridor has been bisected, and the people of South Los Angeles have been left isolated and removed from the very economic engine that has helped to attract investment for the revitalization of South Los Angeles communities.

With the new map released Friday, there is no doubt that the Commission is ignoring the will of the people, and also violating the principles that they adopted to incorporate public testimony, respect communities of interest, and do no harm.

I encourage you to stand up for honest and open government and demand that the Commission respect your wishes.

TOMORROW, February 22nd, the Redistricting Commission will hold what could be their final meeting, and they are expected to vote on the proposed maps. This may be your last chance to let them know what you think.

We want to keep Council District 9 united. Please attend!

Wednesday, February 22 – 4 PM
Los Angeles City Hall
200 N. Spring St.
Council Chamber – Room 340
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Comments can also be emailed to the commission at [email protected]

Sincerely,

Councilwoman Jan Perry

Filed Under: Featured, Politics Tagged With: , , , ,

South LA car wash workers unionize

February 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment


Until a month ago, workers at Vermont Car Wash had a lot to complain about.

“The owner wasn’t paying us what was fair.We worked 10 hours and would get paid 5. We had no lunch breaks and wouldn’t get any water to drink,” says Manuel Ernesto Martinez.

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Manuel Ernesto Martinez is one of the car washers that banded together to start a union at Vermont Car Wash.

The Salvadoran immigrant, who has been working at the car wash for more than four years, says a group of his co-workers finally said “enough!” and started fighting to improve their working conditions, demanding the owner pay them a fair wage.

“In one occasion all of them did a delegation to her and stopped working on a Saturday, a busy day to ask her to listen to their demands,” says CLEAN car wash campaign legal organizer Neydi Dominguez. “Through conversations, through action, community support, but most importantly the bravery and courage of the workers to really have conviction that this was the right thing to do, stay firm and continue the fight.”

Dominguez says it was this show of unity that forced owner Mi-Sook Kim, a Korean immigrant, to accept the unionization of the workers.

Thanks to the contract, they will now earn $8.16 an hour, they got a 2 percent raise, they’ll get uninterrupted lunch breaks and two 10 minute breaks, as required by California law.

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Luis Nava, owner of Nava Car Wash on Florence and Hoover, one of two South LA car washes to become unionized in January of 2012.

“What we’ve also learned is that even though many owners run their own businesses, it doesn’t mean they’re responsible owners that understand the law and how they should be running the biz. Many of them, often don’t know minimum wage laws,” Dominguez points out.

Nava’s car wash also accepted the union contract. Owner Luis Nava had been a manager at the car wash for more than 7 years and bought it from the previous owner in November of 2011.

“Everybody has the right to make minim wage,” says Nava. “They work hard. We have to help them and they can help me.”

The workers will now be represented by the Steel Workers Local 675.

Filed Under: Business, Featured Tagged With: , , ,
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