Letter From Our Executive Director

For Labor Community Services, 2022 presented both opportunities to embrace and challenges to overcome. Together, we have been able to get through this year knowing that we are truly a City of Angels who seek to find ways to help and assist one another as we are united more by our commonalities than divided by our differences. That has always been at the foundation of our resilience and 2022 proved that to be the case.

Together, we have taken a turn in the fight against the COVID-19 Pandemic that has seen most of our community members return to work and begin the long road ahead of economic recovery from the impacts that were felt through our communities. It is not lost on us that while COVID-19 impacted all communities, those worst hit were those who were already struggling to make ends meet and looked at life’s ordeals without a safety net in place.

Our essential frontline workers continue to be our unsung heroes, including our labor volunteers that joined us on the food distribution lines with little regards to their safe, keeping our communities moving and doing so at no easy task, but we continue to demonstrate how strong we are.

As we saw businesses reopen and community members return to work, we got a better glimpse into the impact that our work was having in aiding those who needed assistance during the Pandemic along with discovering new opportunities to help make a difference. While food insecurities were still impacting families throughout Southern California and union members were needing financial assistance to take care of essential needs at home, we saw that many sectors of our loved ones need our help - our veterans, our seniors and our youth.

Working closely with Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo and her staff, Labor Community Services was awarded a historic grant by the State of California in the amount of $15 million dollars, which will allow us to expand our programs and services to better serve those in need along with creating programs aimed to helping more community members and will provide us with the financial resources to purchase a building that will allow us to centralize our operations under one roof! Assemblymember Carrillo has always stood with us and supported our efforts to serve as an anchor to all families who need us and her efforts to spearhead this grant have cemented her legacy as a Champion for working families. From the entire team at Labor Community Services, we thank you, Assemblymember Carrillo!

This year, 2022 allowed us to not only work with our sisters and brothers at the National Association of Letter Carriers to partner up on the largest one-day food drive in the country, but we were finally able to come together at the 2nd Annual Dolores Huerta Spirit Awards to celebrate our achievements but also honor the heroes who continue to inspire and motivate us - Labor Icon Dolores Huerta, United States Senator Alex Padilla, the strong union members who stood on strike for 113 days from the Bakers Union, LiUNA General Manager Sergio Rascon and IATSE 2nd Vice President Thom Davis.

We end 2022 with a reafirmed commitment to serving as an anchor of hope for all communities throughout Los Angeles County and beyond who seek our help. We do so in the spirit of unity and inclusiveness of any community member who needs our help [regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or political afiliation. That is what we stand for and will continue to do so.

Thank you to all who made 2022 a year about reminding us why we are always stronger united as one community and one labor family, in the House of Labor, because Los Angeles is Union Town.

Armando Olivas Executive Director Labor Community Services