Latino Union

Latino Union is a member driven organization committed to building power for low-wage immigrant and US-born workers and dignified, respectful work and lives. The organization collaborates with low-income immigrant and U.S.-born workers to develop the tools necessary to collectively improve social and economic conditions. Latino Union members work to defend the rights and dignity of contingent workers, including the right to immigrate, work, live free of oppression and violence, and provide for oneself and one’s family. The organization is firmly grounded at the intersection of racial/ethnic equity, labor, and immigrant rights.

Women temporary workers founded Latino Union of Chicago in 2000 to improve working conditions in temporary employment agencies and in the communities where they lived and worked. Latino Union has expanded to include several initiatives to protect worker rights. The Albany Park Workers Center is an alternative to street corner day labor hiring sites. As the only day laborers central hiring and education hub in the Midwest, it is a safe place for employers to connect with landscaping, construction, moving, maintenance and home and office cleaning professionals. The Immigrant & Worker Action Project provides day laborers and household workers with individualized support for wage theft and immigration cases.

The Day Labor Program reaches hundreds of construction and landscaping industry day laborers each year with vital information on preventing construction accidents and wage theft, as well as workforce development and education services. Programs include workplace health and safety training certification, for over 500 workers to date, and credentials in green cleaning, child development, and elder care.

Latino Union has been critical in founding coalitions, leading campaigns, and organizing workers to advocate for policy change. For example, the Chicago Coalition of Household Workers is a group of nannies, house cleaners, and homecare workers creating justice in their workplaces, homes, and communities. Latino Union is also a founding member of the Just Pay for All Coalition, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, and the Raise the Floor Alliance.

Many of these campaigns have resulted in meaningful policy changes. Latino Union member advocacy was successful in establishing the Day Laborer Protection Act, which regulates temporary hiring agencies statewide to protect workers’ rights. In more recent years, legislative accomplishments include the Illinois Domestic Workers Bill of Rights and the Cicero Sanctuary Law. Moreover, Latino Union is widely recognized for May Day marches that mobilized over 1 million people and extensive public education and outreach efforts, particularly around illegal ICE raids and immigrant rights.

For more information about Latino Union visit https://www.latinounion.org/.