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A New Ally for Cab Drivers:
Instituto Laboral de la Raza

By Ruach Graffis

The first back wage claim Sarah Shaker filed was for herself and other former employees of a bakery that had just been sold. The new owner closed it down without paying the workers any wages. That was in 1992. It took almost one year to settle the claim; in the meantime, Sarah helped the other workers find new jobs. Instituto Laboral De La Raza helped her file the claims.

Sarah was asked to stay on as the accountant, and when the Director, Jose Medina, was named to the Police Commission in 1997, she was hired as the new Executive Director. There were three staff members and 400 clients that year.
Today there are five full-time and three part-time staffers who handle over 1,600 clients a year. Most of them are low-wage immigrant workers, many of whom have stressful, dangerous jobs. Cases include wage claims, workplace injuries, discrimination and harassment, and small claims. They also help immigrants get taxpayer I.D’s. They can refer clients to agencies in other counties, counsel families with problems (including domestic violence), and help with job placement.
Staff members speak Spanish, Tagalog, Portuguese and English. Carlos is on the staff. He graduated from San Francisco State with a degree in International Political Science and started volunteering at Instituto in 2005. In 2006 he joined the staff as a legal advocate and researcher. He also helps organize the annual fundraising dinner. This year there were over 1,500 guests paying $150 a plate. Now that's a good fundraiser!

Under Sarah’s leadership Instituto has made connections with several Bay Area law schools, where students can get credits and be paid through a work/study program. Employers actively seek out Instituto connections. If you donate items in the Instituto’s name to the Community Thrift Store at 625 Valencia St., the organization will receive 15 percent of the proceeds. Instituto recently opened a satellite office in Oakland.

United Taxicab Workers’ office is across the street from Instituto. There is a coffeehouse on the street level of our building. Its outdoor tables are a neighborhood gathering place. Many of the locals work for non-profit, grassroots, politically active organizations. There are a few labor unions in the area, like the Day Laborers – the guys who hang out on the corner of Cesar Chavez ready to do any kind of work.

The coffeehouse is called Los Olvidados – “the forgotten” – a fitting name for the people these groups represent. Sarah and other staffers at Instituto are regulars. Over months we talked, shared stories of our jobs, and realized we could help each other.

One day a cab driver came to UTW with a legal problem. He’d been fired because he refused to work on a Friday during Ramadan. I took him to Instituto and they agreed to help. The attorney was a young member of a large law firm. He assumed that drivers were independent contractors and was fascinated by the number of cases we cited where cab drivers were found to be employees.

In the last two years, Instituto has handled almost 30 cab driver cases. Sometimes all it takes is a letter from a lawyer to bring a company to their senses and get them to do right by the driver. Sometimes they must go to court. Whatever it takes, whatever they can do, Instituto is ready to help us.

As the name implies, Labor is the focal point of most of the work of Instituto Laboral de la Raza. All of their Board members are members of organized labor unions. Two board members are from UTW’s parent union, Communications Workers of America. The “De La Raza” part means “of the people.” The people, as in the common worker. The people who care about each other as much as they care for themselves.

When I asked Sarah about the future of Instituto she said, “There will be a continuing need as long as there is injustice. We want to serve as an inspiration through example. We’re open seven days a week, and some evenings. Whenever you drive by and the lights are on, we’re there, stop on in.”

How to Contact Instituto Laboral de la Raza

San Francisco Office:
2947 16th St., San Francisco, CA 94103.
Tel: 415.431.7522 ·
Fax: 415.431.4846 ·
E-mail: info@ilaboral.org

East Bay Office:
2647 International Blvd. Suite 221,
Oakland, CA 94601.
Tel: 510.535.7900 ·
Fax: 510.535.7955
E-mail: info@ilaboral.org

Walk-ins are welcome!