LA County Labor Federation elects first Mexican-American

by Evelina Alarcon

This article was reprinted from the June 1, 1996 issue of the People's Weekly World. For subscription information see below. All rights reserved - may be used with PWW credits.

LOS ANGELES - Miguel Contreras last week became the first Mexican American and member of a racial minority to be elected as executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, the nation's second largest union council. The Federation represents 325 locals with over 600,000 members.

As important as Contreras' being the first racial minority to hold the Federation's leading post is that he is a progressive and militant leader of the labor movement. Like the new Sweeney-led AFL-CIO international leadership, he plans to lead by taking the offensive for political action and against corporate greed.

Contreras' first priority is the upcoming '96 elections. During a rousing speech after his election, he called for every local to bring "their best activists" to a special meeting to launch "Federation 2000" to mobilize the entire membership into the November election. The plan includes mobilization for pro-labor candidates and Get Out the Vote for labor ballot initiatives, including one to increase the minimum wage.

Contreras, who formerly served as the Federation's political action director, promises to initiate joint action by labor and communities to "improve the quality of life for all workers in Los Angeles."

First and foremost, this means organizing the unorganized into unions. Contreras plans to launch grassroots organizing projects in targeted communities throughout LA. He also announced that one of his first actions will be to propose to the Federation that they allocate $10,000 to the Communications Workers of America for their campaign to organize independent truckers at the port of Los Angeles.

"I plan to bring back the ILWU into the house of labor," Contreras said forcefully after being elected. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union has not been affiliated to the LA Labor Federation for years, so this move would be a powerful step for unifying labor's efforts in Los Angeles.

Contreras' roots are in the fields of the San Joaquin Valley where he and his family picked grapes. It was here, at the age of 17, that he joined the United Farm Workers Union and began his training under the union's prominent leader Cesar Chavez. Later, he became chief negotiator of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union in Los Angeles.