Por fin is Spanish for Finally.
During the last year Latinas in our world have taken power. In the State Capitol. In the labor movement. In CAAA.
And what it can mean for women who are injured at work.
It started when former Applicants’ Attorney and CAAA member, Assemblywoman Eloise Reyes became the first Latina Majority Leader in the State Assembly.
Then former Los Angeles Labor Federation leader and now State Senator Maria Elena Durazo led the decades-long struggle to make California the first state in the nation to bring universal health care to over two million immigrants who were shut out of access to health care.
A few months later, CAAA elected Sandy Rocca as its first Latina President. Young. Smart. And passionate about CAAA’s mission.
And as the year ended, injured workers’ rights champion, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, was elected to be the next leader of the California Federation of Labor.
Por fin. Finally. Four women who overcame inherent racism and sexism are all in positions - all at once - to bring change and progress for women in the workplace.
Will it mean overnight success for injured workers. Of course not. Just as none of these women were overnight successes in their own rise to power.
These women will inspire long-term and long overdue change.
No longer will working class women be ignored. No longer will working class women be just a political talking point. No longer will women who get injured at work be powerless.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg said, “Fight for the things you care about but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
These four women won’t be the Final Four…that’s college basketball. These women will be the First Four. And they will change things.
