LAUSD Votes to Name Central High School After Miguel Contreras
Labor Desk
April 05, 2006
Site where the living wage ordinance was born to become the first high school in Los Angeles to be named after a labor organizer.
(Los Angeles) – Board members to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) voted today to name Central High School # 10 after the late Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, Miguel Contreras. Parents, business, and community leaders were present to testify and show support. Among those in attendance were Ricardo Perez, LAUSD parent, Professor Carl Friedlander, Los Angeles City College, Executive Director Angelica Salas, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) and Executive Director Madeline Janis-Aparicio, the Los Angeles Alliance for New Economy (LAANE).
Miguel did a lot for the community where this school is being built. He empowered us all to stand up for our rights and fight for what is fair,” said Ricardo Perez who was joined by his ten-year old daughter. “To have my daughter go to a school named after this great man and friend means a lot to me”.
As part of it’s efforts to encourage the naming of Central High School after Contreras, the Los County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, started a letter writing campaign. Through the campaign, they encouraged the public to write letters of support to members of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board of Education. As a result, thousands of letters and e-mails were submitted.
Miguel had an amazing passion for fighting for what was right for all families. In fact, he dedicated his life to doing just that, fighting for the underdog,” said Carl Friedlander. “It’s all too fitting that this school, where he began the revitalization of the Los Angeles labor movement be named after him.”
Contreras began his career in the labor movement at the tender age of 17 in Dinuba, California, where he and his family became United Farm Worker (UFW) activists after laboring in the fields for years. Due to his strong leadership skills and natural organizing ability, he caught the eye of UFW founder Cesar Chavez, who asked Contreras to join his union staff - eventually leading him to become a union negotiator. During the years, Contreras moved up the ranks, becoming International Trustee of H.E.R.E. Local 11 in Los Angeles, and eventually the first Latino Executive Secretary - Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. It was under his leadership, that the door was opened for low wage workers, such as janitors and hotel workers to become active in the movement - leading the federation to become one of the strongest and most politically effective in the country.
Naming Central High School after Contreras has special meaning because he once worked on the site, as it was once the home of H.E.R.E Local 11. Contreras joined H.E.R.E Local 11 in 1987 and worked there until 1994
(Los Angeles) – Board members to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) voted today to name Central High School # 10 after the late Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, Miguel Contreras. Parents, business, and community leaders were present to testify and show support. Among those in attendance were Ricardo Perez, LAUSD parent, Professor Carl Friedlander, Los Angeles City College, Executive Director Angelica Salas, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) and Executive Director Madeline Janis-Aparicio, the Los Angeles Alliance for New Economy (LAANE).
Miguel did a lot for the community where this school is being built. He empowered us all to stand up for our rights and fight for what is fair,” said Ricardo Perez who was joined by his ten-year old daughter. “To have my daughter go to a school named after this great man and friend means a lot to me”.
As part of it’s efforts to encourage the naming of Central High School after Contreras, the Los County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, started a letter writing campaign. Through the campaign, they encouraged the public to write letters of support to members of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board of Education. As a result, thousands of letters and e-mails were submitted.
Miguel had an amazing passion for fighting for what was right for all families. In fact, he dedicated his life to doing just that, fighting for the underdog,” said Carl Friedlander. “It’s all too fitting that this school, where he began the revitalization of the Los Angeles labor movement be named after him.”
Contreras began his career in the labor movement at the tender age of 17 in Dinuba, California, where he and his family became United Farm Worker (UFW) activists after laboring in the fields for years. Due to his strong leadership skills and natural organizing ability, he caught the eye of UFW founder Cesar Chavez, who asked Contreras to join his union staff - eventually leading him to become a union negotiator. During the years, Contreras moved up the ranks, becoming International Trustee of H.E.R.E. Local 11 in Los Angeles, and eventually the first Latino Executive Secretary - Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. It was under his leadership, that the door was opened for low wage workers, such as janitors and hotel workers to become active in the movement - leading the federation to become one of the strongest and most politically effective in the country.
Naming Central High School after Contreras has special meaning because he once worked on the site, as it was once the home of H.E.R.E Local 11. Contreras joined H.E.R.E Local 11 in 1987 and worked there until 1994
Print
Email
