Young Worker Leadership Academy

Youth participants created an educational video and pamphlets to raise awareness about garment workers’ rights and workplace safety. Through interviews and interactive questions, the project helped young people recognize workplace violations, understand their rights, and learn where to find support. The materials remain available online, allowing the project’s impact to continue beyond the original activity.

“YWLA helped me come to a realization that there are many who suffer and endure injustice due to their employers. It could be someone really close to you or you yourself. I realized I must be more aware in the workforce and to speak up and back myself.” – Allisson Lopez

Youth participants educated nearly 200 students and adults about workers’ rights, workplace hazards, and available safety resources. Through presentations, educational materials, and peer discussions, the project helped young workers feel more informed, confident, and prepared to advocate for themselves in the workplace.

“YWLA helped me build confidence, learn important life skills, and connect with people who are passionate about creating safer and healthier workplaces.”

— Sariah Simpson

Garfield High School students reached more than 100 young people through interactive events about workers’ rights and workplace safety. Using educational displays, resource handouts, quizzes, and a prize wheel, they helped students learn about fair pay, breaks, legal work hours, hazardous jobs, and where to seek help.

“I learned about wage theft, safety hazards, and laws that protect young workers—topics that are not often covered in school but are extremely important.”

— Marisol Avalos

Youth participants created and led an interactive Know Your Rights workshop using a Jeopardy-style game to teach students about workplace rights, health and safety, wage theft, and available resources. Through workshops, bilingual educational materials, and community activities, the team directly reached approximately 85 young people. The project helped students better understand their rights while giving youth leaders experience in public speaking, teamwork, and community education. WECN-LA plans to continue using the materials and interactive workshop model in future school and community outreach.

“One of the best experiences for me was participating in the citywide Know Your Rights pilot for fast food workers and helping with our team’s workshop. Seeing so many workers come together to learn about their rights showed me how important education and community support really is.” – Israel Urbina