Jen Ziel Klewitz Photography

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Antonio Bernabe, left, talks with day laborer Luis Flores, right, at the North Hollywood Labor Center, in North Hollywood, California, on December 4, 2009. Flores, who had recently suffered a back injury that left him in a great deal of pain and made him unable to perform manual labor, was discussing options for financial and medical help with Bernabe. Bernabe was visiting the center on behalf of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), delivering an educational program informing laborers of a new city ordinance that affects their right to hold employers accountable who fail to pay them for their day's work. Bernabe, originally of Guanajuato, Mexico, and now U.S. citizen and resident of Van Nuys, California, is a day laborer organizer and has worked for CHIRLA for 12 years. In his current position, he is responsible for executing educational programs for day laborers in the greater Los Angeles area. Bernabe's programs include campaigns to inform workers of their rights, inform them about immigration and work law, and to inform them about access to social services such as health care, English classes, and paths to residency and citizenship. Bernabe, who was once himself a day laborer, works for the betterment of the community and for immigrant rights. Day laborers are workers in manual labor fields, such as home construction and painting, who solicit temporary work, often from public street corners. Day laborers are made up of American citizens, documented immigrants, and most commonly, undocumented immigrants, all of whom are unable to find other work or regular employment. A majority of the day laborers in the Los Angeles area are from Central America and are Spanish speakers. Photo by Jen KlewitzPhoto by Jen Klewitz

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Immigration
Antonio Bernabe, left, talks with day laborer Luis Flores, right, at the North Hollywood Labor Center, in North Hollywood, California, on December 4, 2009. Flores, who had recently suffered a back injury that left him in a great deal of pain and made him unable to perform manual labor, was discussing options for financial and medical help with Bernabe. Bernabe was visiting the center on behalf of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), delivering an educational program informing laborers of a new city ordinance that affects their right to hold employers accountable who fail to pay them for their day's work. Bernabe, originally of Guanajuato, Mexico, and now U.S. citizen and resident of Van Nuys, California, is a day laborer organizer and has worked for CHIRLA for 12 years. In his current position, he is responsible for executing educational programs for day laborers in the greater Los Angeles area. Bernabe's programs include campaigns to inform workers of their rights, inform them about immigration and work law, and to inform them about access to social services such as health care, English classes, and paths to residency and citizenship. Bernabe, who was once himself a day laborer, works for the betterment of the community and for immigrant rights. Day laborers are workers in manual labor fields, such as home construction and painting, who solicit temporary work, often from public street corners. Day laborers are made up of American citizens, documented immigrants, and most commonly, undocumented immigrants, all of whom are unable to find other work or regular employment. A majority of the day laborers in the Los Angeles area are from Central America and are Spanish speakers. Photo by Jen KlewitzPhoto by Jen Klewitz