Centro de los Trabajadores, run by Latina women, is elevating worker rights

DENVER, Colorado — In the past year alone, Centro de Los Trabajadores has helped more than 2,000 people. The organization has a long history of helping immigrant workers and has worked with newcomers from Venezuela as part of the Denver Asylum Seeker Program.

Centro de Los Trabajadores played an integral part when Denver City Council granted subpoena power to the Denver Auditor’s office to investigate wage theft claims.

“Centro de Los Trabajadores is the only worker center in Colorado in the whole state,” said Executive Director Mayra Juarez Denis. “It has been around for 20 years in Denver. It was founded by an organizer who wanted a place of belonging and a place where workers can come and trust and get some instructions how to navigate the workplace.”  

Juarez Denis has 16 people on staff, most of whom are Latinas.

“We are a team,” she said. “We always make sure that the people who are hired are serving, also through their experience. The majority, 90%, are immigrant women or first generation women who are Latinas who understand the immigrant experience, and that’s very important for us. So we are very proud that Latinas are running this organization.” 

Centro provides classes to learn English, computer skills, and other soft and hard skills.

“I think the most fulfilling thing that has happened is that we have really started teaching workers to take charge of their lives, their labor, because we really want them to know that they have the power to do that,” Juarez Denis said. “But if they do it in an organized way as part of an institution, they are going to create more power.”

They also work with participants on their resume and how to make sure they will be pursuing opportunities that they are good at. When workers begin in the program, they go through an assessment and talk about how to continue developing their skills and background.

“My passion is to work with people and to help immigrants,” said Norys Castillo, community economic development coordinator. “I think I am lucky to be at Centro de Los Trabajadores because I have the opportunity to do it and to know what being an immigrant is like and being able to have the opportunity to help them.”

Castillo is originally from Venezuela and has been in the United States for nine years. What drives her passion is to help others in the way she knows could have made a big impact when she first arrived to Denver. 

“For me, it was a very difficult transition at the beginning,” said Castillo, in her native Spanish language. “This is a different culture, really, from where I come from. For me, it really wasn’t easy at the beginning.”

She knows she can be an example to others who are on the same journey she was.

“They look at me, too,” Castillo said. “You can start again from scratch. In my country, I worked in good companies and good positions. To arrive in this country, we can start again.” 

Claudia Meza, executive administrative assistant, is from Guatemala. She arrived about 20 years ago. 

“Given that I work in that organization that is of immigrants, for immigrants and by immigrants. I think that makes me connect in a much easier way,” Meza said.

Meza said she knows how important it is to meet the workers and get to know them individually. Many of the immigrants whom Centro supports came from a career background like being a veterinarian or a nurse. Sometimes their education or skills may not translate once they arrive here. She makes sure she understands their background and skill level to ensure they are on the best trajectory for their career.

“We take that time to dedicate and know what skills that person brings,” Meza said. “That way, we know what positions they could fill.”

The organization has been an important force in creating additional worker protections in the City of Denver.

In April, Denver City Council passed a bill that grants subpoena power to the Auditor’s Office to investigate claims of wage theft. Much of that movement to pass the bill was due to a year’s worth of organizing by the team at Centro de Los Trabajadores.

“We were able to change the law,” Juarez Denis said.

The wage theft claims that workers bring to them range anywhere between $100 to thousands of dollars. 

“For instance, one of the stories, one of our workers, he was subcontractor from a bigger company,” Juarez Denis said. “He got a project where he hired about 12 workers, and after some months of work, the bigger company didn’t pay him. But he didn’t want to leave hanging the workers that he hired, so he emptied his account of $60,000, and he went broke literally. He couldn’t continue with his company.”

Migrants and immigrants are often the victims of wage theft and exploitation due to language barriers, documentation status and their new-to-country background.

“We are talking about serious monies here that they get stolen. Because they are stealing from them. So, that’s a serious issue that we are going to continue providing the help to our workers,” Juarez Denis said.