Summer 2010

Labor & Education Collaborative

Low-wage Worker-Parents and K-12 Education

On Friday July 23 and Saturday 24, 2010, the UCLA Downtown Labor Center held the first Training of Trainers

session for the Parent-Worker University. Twenty-five par-

ticipants from different unions and community-based organi-

zations attended including BSP (Building skills partnership) SEIU, USWW-janitors and security officers, members from

the CLEAN Carwash Campaign, parent members from Com-

munity Coalition, and education leaders from SEIU ULTCW (homecare workers union). The main goals of our training

session were to:

Identify and train worker/parent leaders using the Parent University curriculum.

Develop a cadre of worker/parent trainers to conduct

workshops at worksites using the Parent University Cur-

riculum . Create a space for worker/parent leaders across organiza-

tions to develop working relationships for future collabo-

ration. Develop a better understanding of how to develop a path

to college and higher education.

Establish a strategic plan to identify and recruit new par-ent leaders .

On the final day of the training parent- workers were

given the opportunity to bring all the tools and materials they

learned from the previous day to present a pathways to col-lege presentation to their colleagues. These presentations

were varied from how to choose a college and pay for it to

what the requirements are to attend a 2 or 4 year college. Parent-workers were so thrilled with their work together that

they decided to set up a date to reconvene and work together

on educational campaigns.

(above) Pedro Cortez, a SEIU USWW steward and training

of trainers participant recently interviewed on 90.7 FM

KPFK by host Henry Walton on the Labor Review show.

Pedro talked about his work with his union to engage jani-

tors at multiple worksites about pathways to college and

middle-class jobs for union members’ children. Pedro has

also visited partner organizations like Inner City Struggle

to learn about best practices on parent-worker involvement

in K-12 education and reform initiatives.

(above) Participants of the “Training of Trainers”

getting to know each other in an icebreaker

A Collaborative of Building Skills Partnership, Inner City Struggle, Community Coalition, SEIU -USWW,

SEIU 721, SEIU Local 99, SEIU-SOULA, UNITE HERE Local 11, CSEA, UTLA, SEIU -ULTCW, UCLA IDEA, Center

for the Study of Immmigrant Integration, UCLA Program in Public Interest Law and UCLA Labor Center.

On the afternoon of June 22, 2010, high school stu-dents, parents and union members united standing on the

steps of the LAUSD office to show that the fight for

quality education still continues. The group gathered to

highlight the 5-year anniversary of the passage of A-G requirements. In order to be eligible to attend any

school in the University of California (UC) or the Cali-

fornia State University (CSU) systems as a freshman, you must take certain classes in high school. These

classes are known as the "A-G Subjects:"

Students representing Inner City Struggle (ICS) and Community Coalition (CoCo) led a lively protest

outside the LAUSD building. Inside, these same stu-

dents eloquently described the difficulties they face in

obtaining a quality high school education. Both of these organizations worked in a broad coalition with students

and parents to pressure the LAUSD to pass the A-G

requirements for public schools back in 2005. Other members of the collaborative to join ICS

and CoCo at the 5-year anniversary event included par-

ents and organizers from SEIU USWW, CSEA, the C.LE.A.N. Car Wash

Campaign, UCLA IDEA,

CSII, and the UCLA La-

bor Center. Blanca Dueñas, a member of

Inner City Struggle said,

“We are here at LAUSD to demand

these A-G courses [exist]

so that our children

have those classes to get to the university.”

(left) This summer the UCLA Downtown Labor Center hosted

two high school interns. Maritza Figueroa (left) and Nancy Jose

(right) interned for 6 weeks through a partnership with the

Constitutional Rights Founda-tion (CRF) and the UCLA

Labor Center. Maritza attends Narbonne High School while

Nancy attends Miguel Contreras . They are both sen-

iors and will be graduating in spring of 2011.

In order to be eligible to attend the University of California (UC) or the Cali-

fornia State University (CSU) systems as a freshman, you must take certain

classes in high school. These classes are known as the "A-G Subjects:"

A. History/Social Science - 2 years required

B. English - 4 years required

C. Mathematics - 3 years required, 4 years recommended

A. Laboratory Science - 2 years required, 3 years recommended:

B. Language Other Than English (Foreign Language) - 2 years required, 3

years recommended

C. Visual & Performing Arts - 1 year required

D. College Preparatory Electives - 1 year required

The Labor & Education Collaborative presented a policy

brief to LAUSD school board members developed from data

gathered from residential zip code information of over

350,000 workers belonging to SEIU and UTLA; over 530

telephone surveys of parent members of CSEA, UNITE-

HERE, SEIU, and UTLA; and 70 in-depth interviews with

parent members of CSEA and various SEIU locals.