On December 1st, 2014, the newly elected member of the Board of Supervisor for the County of Los Angeles’ First District, former United States Labor Secretary, Hilda Solis was sworn in by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Solis replaces long time board member, Gloria Molina who was termed out after serving twenty three years.
In her speech after being sworn into office, she pays tribute to the Thai Community Development Center and the Thai garment workers from the famed El Monte Thai Garment Slavery shop.
Here is an excerpt of that section of her speech:
“I’m returning to Los Angeles, my village, after serving as Secretary of Labor in Washington. That job in many ways was a dream come true for me for it gave me the opportunity to be an advocate for working people across this country every single day. But in Washington and the Labor Department, I never forgot a group of workers in my own home community of El Monte.
In 1995, 72 men and women were found captive in an El Monte apartment complex that housed an illegal sweatshop. Immigrants from Thailand, they worked out of sight behind a razor wire fence and under armed guard. I was a State Senator then representing El Monte at the time. And I convened hearings on their plight and working conditions. Their fate was one of the first major issues I took on in the Senate. And as the years passed, they stayed in my mind. I drive by that site occasionally. I’ve kept in touch over the years with Chancee Martorell, the inspirational Director of the Thai Community Development Center who is their advocate and my friend. I’ve heard of their successes in obtaining citizenship and raising their families here and starting their own businesses. To me, their story is a reminder of how far we can fall when we fail to hold up the basic standards of justice and fairness in our country. It is also a reminder of just how effective we can be when community activists like Chancee, the Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and unions like UNITE HERE, work together with government to reinforce those standards.
Some of those women who escaped the El Monte sweat shop in 1995 are here with us today. Please stand so we can thank them for being here with us. I am honored that you have come here to share this great moment with me and my family.”
The video of the proceedings can be found at this link and for the above section of the speech, go to the video at 1:14:08.
