CASA LATINA
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Mission Statement
Advancing the power and well-being of Latin/x immigrants through employment, education, and community organizing.
About This Cause
Founded in 1994, Casa Latina’s goal is that the Latin/x community participate fully in the economy and democracy of this country. By providing job opportunities, English language classes, and workplace training, Casa Latina “builds the ladder” to help women and men climb out of poverty and become economically independent. Casa Latina also seeks to “raise the floor” for day laborers and domestic workers by addressing racial and socioeconomic inequities. This includes increasing wages, fairness, and job safety, as well as advocating for political policies and systems that make it possible for Latin/x immigrants to become full participants and leaders in their communities. Casa Latina’s participants are among the most exploited and underrepresented populations in the U.S. Their needs are three-fold: 1) As Latin/x, participants experience institutional and interpersonal prejudices at work and at home, a high wage gap, and difficulty finding good housing and employment. 2) As day laborers and domestic workers, participants often work in dangerous conditions without sufficient support networks or government protections. Because of the informal nature of temporary labor and domestic work, instances of wage theft and verbal and physical abuse on the job are common. 3) As immigrants, participants do not have access to the same privileges and services as U.S. citizens. Furthermore, immigrants have fewer opportunities to have their voices heard in the political arena. Casa Latina strives to provide culturally relevant programs that are applicable to the lived experiences of the Latin/x day laborers and domestic workers we serve. We use the popular education model of collective leadership to design programs that draw directly from our members’ stories and needs. Our programs are built around three pillars: Employment, Education, and Community Organizing. Current programs include: • Employment The Day Worker Center, Casa Latina's hiring hall, connects participants on a daily basis with day labor and domestic work at fair wages. These temporary jobs build a path to more stable employment and provide participants with the financial stability and client-base they need to earn a living and to prepare for their next steps—whether that's finding safe housing, starting full-time work, or building their own business. • Education Casa Latina offers a variety of classes that help participants develop the skills they need to be more employable, which in turn helps them climb out of poverty. o English as a Second Language: Free English classes, taught five days a week, help participants navigate everyday life and employment in the United States. o Workplace Skills and Safety: Job skills trainings on topics including moving, gardening, and environmentally safe (“green”) cleaning give participants valuable skills to find and retain work. Safety trainings keep participants safe on the job and educate them on on their right to overtime, sick leave, etc. • Community Organizing Because Casa Latina believes that those most affected by racial and socioeconomic inequities are those most qualified to propose solutions, members organize and take leadership within Casa Latina and in the community at large. For example: o Every Thursday morning an assembly is led by the workers to discuss and vote on issues that directly affect them, such as the workers’ minimum wage and rules of conduct in the Day Worker Center. o Every Friday evening, the women’s leadership group Mujeres Sin Fronteras (Women Without Borders) meets and provides participants with the opportunity to gain practical skills and build community. Topics of trainings and discussion include self-esteem building; civil rights; domestic violence; public speaking; women’s preventative health care; and household finances. o Casa Latina has provided know your rights trainings to our membership since the presidential election and created a community-wide plan for rapid response to actions by immigration enforcement. We will continue looking for ways to defend and empower our community in the face of increased anti-immigrant sentiments. Recent program successes include: • In 2016, Casa Latina dispatched 7,344 jobs through our hiring hall. The average wage across all jobs dispatched was $19.63. • 258 participants took English classes at Casa Latina during 2016, with over 26% of them attending more than 24 hours of class.Casa Latina recouped $43,937 in wages in 2016 for workers who had experienced wage theft on the job. • In response to increased concerns resulting from the results of last year’s presidential election, Casa Latina launched a series of Know Your Rights workshops and immigration forums to educate our members about how to protect and advocate for themselves. Perhaps even more meaningful than the numbers or statistics, however, are the personal success stories of participants. For example, Casa Latina member Maria Luisa came to the US for work after finding herself working two shifts a day for only $150 a month in Mexico. When she arrived in Seattle, a friend helped her find a job at a nursing home, but the home closed suddenly leaving her unemployed. Luckily, she found Casa Latina and immediately joined our housecleaning employment program. Today she has enough clients to support herself. Our English classes have given Maria Luisa the language skills she needed to feel more comfortable in the US and to manage her own housecleaning clients, and our women's leadership group Women Without Borders has taught her to be more self-confident. She is now considered a leader among the women. Maria Luisa says the most important thing she has learned is "How to overcome. More than anything how to be human, how to be a whole person."