Dolores Huerta Labor Institute

“Labor Studies - Don’t Start Work Without It.”

As young children, my brother and I saw my parents work hard and long hours and as we grew older, we came to see them less and less.

Twilight footsteps and empty rooms became the norm for my brother and me. My mother found herself working longer shifts at two different hospitals as her workload doubled. My father’s small start-up business took him farther away from home. Like many immigrant parents towards their children, they endeavored to give my brother and me a better life. Very early on, I learned that what happens at work does not just impact the worker but the whole family as well.

Work has come to play a central role in how people’s lives are organized. It shapes where people choose to set up their home, the time spent with family and the overall quality of their existence. People do not have control over their lives if they cannot control their work life.

As a result of the average wage not keeping up with the rising cost of living, more people spend more time on the job than with their own children. A single adult would need to earn minimally $13.52 an hour to live on his or her own in Los Angeles County. A single parent would need to earn minimally $30.00 an hour in the same locale. In the backdrop, the wealth gap has widened to Great Depression proportions despite increased productivity. Los Angeles County has more working poor in comparison to the rest of the nation while at the same time more billionaires and millionaires live in the region than any other county in the country.

The great wealth disparity in Los Angeles and the demand by students for promising careers and a higher quality of life led the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees, the Los Angeles College Faculty Guild (AFT 1521), the Los Angeles Trade-Technical Labor Studies Center, the UCLA Labor Studies Center and several major Los Angeles labor unions to found the Dolores Huerta Labor Institute (DHLI). Named after the co-founder with Cesar Chavez of the United Farm Workers movement and creator of the community pride chant “Si Se Puede,” DHLI draws from Dolores Huerta’s inspiring legacy to build a center that will walk students through the annals of work and offer the tools necessary for productive lives. DHLI aims to educate and engage students about their future as workers and professionals.

At the DHLI, we believe Labor Studies can provide students the instruments needed to analyze their future work experiences and to act upon it. The recent growth of the Labor Movement in Los Angeles affords different opportunities for students seeking a brighter and more meaningful tomorrow. Through our internship programs, our film and lecture series, classes and other various resources, students will learn to have more control of their lives and hopefully a future with less twilight footsteps and empty rooms for their children.

Welcome to DHLI.