4 minute read
Colorado Jobs With Justice, We See You!
An Interview with Pam Trujano
Q: What is a song you have on repeat?
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The current song I have on repeat is anything by #FreeBritney Spears.
Q: What is your favorite rainy day movie?
My favorite rainy-day movie has got to be Blade Runner, in particular because of the line that states “All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain”
Q: Does pineapple belong on pizza?
Yes, pineapple for sure goes on pizza. Food is supposed to explore flavors and challenge our palate and the sweetness of the pineapple on pizza does exactly that.
Q: Who has had the greatest impact on you?
My mother is the person who has impacted me the most. Yolanda Trujano has been my light in times of darkness; she reminds me to be gentle, humble, honest and has demonstrated time after time the strength it takes to keep going. As a domestic worker, she worked tirelessly to ensure my sister and I obtained a higher education, taught me about workers’ rights and the need to advocate for social justice, to challenge and question authority even if it’s her, to be self-sufficient, and my love of the arts.
Q: The best and worst advice you’ve recieved?
The worst advice I have ever received was from a previous boss who told me “I needed to learn to do the dance” when it came to funders, partners etc. Needless to say, I left that job. The best advice I have received is from Angela Davis’ quotes, “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time” because to believe in change and in transformative work requires to truly live out your values every day and to not succumb to a dominant narrative or what is the norm.
Q: What does it mean to make a difference in the world?
To make a difference in the world to me means to truly do the internal work in order to dismantle all the “isms’’ that are in our society and that have been embedded into our sub/conscious. By freeing myself so that ‘The function of freedom is to free someone else’. Toni Morrison
Q: Tell me about the first strike you ever participated in.
The first strike I participated in was in San Antonio, Texas. Unite Here was organizing the Hyatt Hotel at the Riverwalk, a campaign that took 12 years. I remember the amount of solidarity and organizing that was poured into that effort and some of the folks that I met while supporting the strike have been my biggest comrades in the labor movement.
Q: How have you seen Colorado Jobs With Justice evolve?
I feel Colorado JWJ has evolved in various ways since I joined the organization. We deeply focus our work with an economic, racial and gender justice lens. Our staff was developed and transitioned to other organizations, the board has changed drastically in representation and demographics; the way the organization does anti-racist work and keeps challenging white supremacy internally and in our partnerships is very intentional.
Q: Your greatest achievement with Colorado Jobs With justice?
I feel my greatest achievement while working at Colorado JWJ has been to grow the organization despite the challenges I inherited and to do it while still staying true to my values and also acknowledging the humanity of our team and myself.
