Yanira Merino is the first undocumented immigrant woman to lead The Labor Council for Latin America Advancement (LCLAA). She was elected President in 2018 after a long journey as a labor leader and advocate for immigrant rights. She emigrated from El Salvador to Los Angeles, California, in the 1990s. Along with her peers of a shrimp factory, and as they saw the injustices and the conditions they faced every day, her work led her to organize.

Since then, she has always collaborated in immigration reform campaigns and often leads solidarity work related to Central America. In an exclusive dialogue with LPO, Yanina talks about union challenges, the electoral context and the needs of the Latino population in the world of work.

Your story represents that of many Latinos in the United States. What was your arrival in the country like?

The first time I entered the country I was 14 years old. My mother made the decision to emigrate due to the political situation in El Salvador. She hired a coyote, but my brother and I were stopped as soon as we crossed the border and sent back. My mother, who did manage to enter along with my younger brother, took three years to collect the money and pay the coyote again to try to enter us a second time. This is how I returned at 17 and managed to enter undocumented. Some time later, I got married and started the process to get my papers. It took me three years to get my legal permanent residence because it cost a lot of money and my family had no money. The story is the same for many of us. This is how I got here, I started working and studying.

"En un tiempo no había voz, pero ahora la mayoría de los que protestan son latinos"

Your social activism started as a young woman in El Salvador. Was that important in your approach to unionism?

Yes. The first time they deported me, I went back to El Salvador and became an activist at school. That's where I started social work. Then I came to the United States and started working in a shrimp processor in Los Angeles, where conditions were pretty bad. Most of us were women and Latinas. At that time, I was almost 30 years old and had just become a mother. One day, one of the bosses said something that seemed totally dehumanizing to us. I talked to the other workers: it was unfair for us to be treated like that. I asked them if they had ever talked about a union and they said no. I was already very active with the Salvadoran community, I had met several people who worked with unions. We were 120 but the law said that with 25 we could organize ourselves. Many were afraid at that time, because they related it to a political and communist thing. For me it was like a school, because I did not think that in the United States it was going to be so difficult. I never thought that it would be so difficult in a first world country, that they would repress so much our rights.

When I arrived, I started working in a shrimp processor in Los Angeles, where conditions were pretty bad. Most of us were women and Latinas. I was almost 30 years old and had just become a mother.

How did that experience transform you?

It was a great learning. That experience opened my eyes, I got more and more involved because of the lack of respect and dignity towards the workers. I suffered a lot, because I was a woman, a mother and I had accent. I met the LCLAA in 98 and with them the organization of the American labor movement.

It is a long story, and I dedicated myself more and more to the labor movement. I became a member of the LCLAA until they invited me to be part of the national team and years later, in 2018, I was given the opportunity to run for president.

LPOJulián Ortiz

What changes are needed to move forward today?

I have two points. The first has to do with the fact that I never thought that all this was going to happen, but sometimes it feels like we haven't made the progress we had to. There must be many changes in the American movement to organize our immigrant community, women, people of color. Of the almost 30 years of this movement, I think that nowadays the most important work is with young people. The fight is not over because the challenges are still monumental. Immigrants keep coming. We must focus on why and how we are coming to this country. Not only must the work be directed at the immigrant or Latino workforce, but in general. As long as workers have the ability to be easily exploited because of their status, because of having a background language or because of their gender, the American labor system will suffer, so we have to negotiate better contracts in general.

In the American world of work, contracts have historically been signed for years. In an inflation context, is it necessary to have parity of representation?

This is starting to happen in the United States. Here the minimum is a one-year contract, but three to five years are generally signed. Added, for example, that women work always in sectors that pay less. So, yes, in this context, contracts with inflation are beginning to be looked at both in the private and public sectors.

LPOJulián Ortiz

Is the percentage of unionized population high?

Today it is close to 12% and that is low. The highest level achieved in the United States was 32% in the 40's, when activism was very important. Many of them were accused of being communists or anarchists who came from other places. From my point of view, attacks have always been made to weaken the movement, because historically benefits have been achieved, but there have also been mistakes within trade unionism.

For example?

Don't organize women, don't organize people of color. That was when they stopped organizing themselves. Unionism in the United States has always reflected white men. The attacks to weaken the movement have been strong and with that the weaken of the laws that protect workers.

"En Estados Unidos, hay un nuevo movimiento sindical liderado por latinos y afroamericanos"

What is the work of the organization like?

LCLAA allows us to talk about different topics. The organization is important because, although unionism is weakened, socially, economically and culturally it remains one of the strongest voices within the United States. As Latinos, having a loud voice allows us - as an organization - to have a presence and reach people.

How do Latino workers with so many different realities and diverse situations come to unionize?

Most of our members are already union members. For us, this has been bridging the gap between those who have contract and those who don't. In any part of the world, a worker with a collective bargaining agreement has more opportunities than one without one.

I think that nowadays the most important work is with young people. The fight is not over, because the challenges are still monumental. Immigrants keep coming.

You can see the White House from your office. Do you have contact, or are you just neighbors?

We make a call once a month, entirely in Spanish. They talk to Latino leaders. We will always contribute with our opinion, because we are part of the labor movement. In addition, there are many Latinos working in the White House. Today communications are sent in English and Spanish. A lot of work is being done, but there is still a long way to go.

LPOJulián Ortiz

Once again, the United States experience a context of presidential elections. Why is it important that people who can vote do so?

"We are the sleeping giant," they say. It would be nice if we just wake up that giant. But this giant must not only be awakened, it must be prepared so that it understands where it is going to walk. So that it asserts its rights. We must invest so that Latino voters who have the opportunity to do so, register and participate.

There are a lot of Latinos who can vote, but not all of them go and vote. There is a lot of talk about voting laws here in the United States. The law must be enforced. I think this administration is working hard to improve the opportunities of working people. It has promoted laws but much work remains to be done. In this context, a continuity in social policies could be positive even if the organization is not partisan. We have to work and organize ourselves to make them effective for us. The Latino vote needs investment so that we can really have the impact everyone thinks we can have.

Thinking about the future, what is the pending work?

We have to work with the community, we cannot be absent. The pandemic helped a lot. The weakening of the labor movement came much earlier, but this particular context that we are going through only exposed it. From all points of view, not only from the social one, but also from the economic one, it became clear that work is an essential part of a person's dignity. We must consolidate our power to influence policy. The more we have, the loudest our voice is. I always say one thing: "Immigrants come an survive. They will continue to find work, even if they are exploited." The American labor movement then cannot afford for that to happen, because it is a problem for everyone, it has to organize the workers.

Translator: Bibiana Ruiz.