Advocating for Low-Wage and Undocumented Workers in Los Angeles

By 2023 Fellow Elizabeth Machado, hosted by Bet Tzedek Legal Services. Elizabeth’s work is sponsored by Alston & Bird and US Bank.

I went to law school with the conviction that I would advocate on behalf of workers. Much to my excitement, I will be doing exactly that over the next two years as an Equal Justice Works Fellow with Bet Tzedek Legal Services. My project will combat employment discrimination in Los Angeles—particularly among undocumented and low-wage workers—through direct legal services, community outreach and education, and policy advocacy.

Los Angeles’s low-wage industries, including the carwash, garment, restaurant, and day labor industries, are notorious for their violations of worker’s rights. Increasingly, employers are retaliating against undocumented workers for asserting their employment rights and advocating for better working conditions. In some cases, employers have even threatened to report workers to ICE. Undocumented workers are often fearful of legal repercussions and increasingly reluctant to report employment violations and to cooperate with workplace investigations. This enables unscrupulous employers to gain an unfair competitive advantage over law-abiding employers.

I became interested in workers’ rights while minoring in Labor and Workplace Studies at UCLA. I interviewed carwash workers throughout Los Angeles about wage and hour and health and safety issues. I also volunteered with Bet Tzedek’s Employment Rights Project, where I worked on wage and hour cases. As I learned about workers’ rights issues, I became increasingly intrigued as I realized that many of my family members faced the issues I was learning about.

From my paternal family members, I learned about the migrant farmworker experience. My grandfather was a Bracero farmworker in Southern California. Originally from Sinaloa, México, he came to the U.S. every year to harvest crops to support his growing family. My father was raised in México, though he and my uncle followed in my grandfather’s steps, laboring as migrant farmworkers. In this role, they were exposed to pesticides, lived in squalid conditions, and often could only afford to eat canned food because they were paid so little.

From my maternal uncles, I learned about the day laborer experience. My uncles struggled to make ends meet and did not have access to personal protective equipment to shield them from job-related injuries and illnesses. From my mother, I learned about the domestic worker experience. While cleaning homes, she is regularly exposed to noxious cleaning products and experiences headaches and lower back pains.

From my father, I learned about the financial instability that on-call work brings. For nearly a decade, while he transitioned from a casual Longshoreman to a full-time Longshoreman, he did not have a fixed work schedule or health benefits. We were often uninsured or on Medi-Cal. To make up for the inconsistent hours, my father took up a second job in construction, where he suffered several injuries and was on temporary disability and workers’ compensation at different points in time. Fortunately, when my father became a construction worker and LIUNA (Laborers’ International Union of North America) member, and then a longshoreman and ILWU Local 13 (International Longshore and Warehouse Union) member, my family and I experienced the benefits of unionization. For the first time, my family had a stable income and health insurance.

As the daughter of Mexican immigrants and granddaughter of a Bracero farmworker, I came to admire the hard work ethic and resiliency of immigrant workers, and I learned to fiercely protect what workers rightfully earned through their labor, including just pay and respect.

Witnessing my family’s precarious employment conditions made me understand the plight of immigrant workers. I learned that these workers—given their immigration status, varying education levels, and limited English fluency—are frequently relegated to working in unsafe and exploitative conditions. I gained a deep appreciation for my family’s hard work, and I came to admire the resiliency of all immigrant workers. When I connected what I was learning in school and in the field with my family’s experiences, I vowed to fiercely protect what workers rightfully earned through their labor, including respect and dignity.

During my Fellowship, I will build on Bet Tzedek Legal Services’ existing partnerships with community organizations. I will hold regular discrimination clinics and provide advice, counsel, and direct representation to workers experiencing discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. I will also hold Know Your Rights Trainings to educate workers about what they should do when an employer discriminates against them. Additionally, in collaboration with Bet Tzedek Legal Services and community partners, I will develop policy proposals seeking to expand protections and enforcement against discrimination.

I am excited to return once again to Bet Tzedek Legal Services with the support of Equal Justice Works and my sponsors to embark on the increasingly important work in the area of employment discrimination.

With my background, advocating for workers has felt natural and familiar, almost as if I was representing someone from my own family. Most importantly, the work feels deeply fulfilling and meaningful. I am excited to embark on this work and give low wage and undocumented workers a voice.

To learn more about Elizabeth’s project, click here.

To learn more about how Bet Tzedek has supported Equal Justice Works Fellows, click here. Bet Tzedek CEO Diego Cartagena will be honored for his outstanding career in public service at this year’s Scales of Justice Event, which you can learn more about here.