People Building Worker Power Institute MIKE MARTINEZ

Mike Martinez, the child of a victim of sex trafficking, ending up in foster care when he was three. When he turned seven, Mike was adopted by a Mexican American family. He had food on the table and clothes on his back, but Mike never felt accepted. At home, his Asian-American background never sat well with his family, and Mike got bullied because he looked different.

From a young age, Mike was in trouble with the law. When he was 12, he wanted a piece of beef jerky, but he had no money. So he stole it. By the age of 16, Mike was sentenced to juvenile detention facilities for committing residential burglary; and, at 18, he started selling cannabis on the streets of Sacramento, California. After a high-speed chase he was involved in landed Mike in prison for the first time, he was in and out of correctional facilities for the next eighteen years.

After he left the notorious Pelican Bay State Prison in 2018, Mike was tired of the violence that followed him. He resented being labeled by law enforcement as “the worst of the worst” because he knew he wasn’t. In his neighborhood Mike defended his weaker friends and always stood up to bullies. Even in prison, he was the one his prison mates came to for help with their issues. He read extensively and hoarded books like Doctor Zhivago next to his prison cot, reading them repeatedly. Mike dreamed of a different life, one not involving guns, drugs, and violence.

Determined never to return to prison, Mike worked in low-wage service jobs. While taking pride in his work, he resented the unfair treatment he and his coworkers experienced. A few years later, Mike heard about Worker Power through a friend and got a job as a voterregistration canvasser. Mike’s dedication was evident from the beginning. After a year as a canvasser and canvass team leader, Mike earned a spot in Worker Power’s inaugural Campaign School and subsequently, got promoted to Field Organizer. Most recently, Mike helped lead the signature gathering effort to refer the proposed Arizona Coyotes arena and entertainment district to the ballot in Tempe.

“What I love about this campaign is that it brought people together. Democrats and Republicans came together, agreeing that the City of Tempe should not be giving handouts to billionaires.”

Campaigning around issues that lift people out of poverty and fighting for economic policies that benefit all – and not just those at the top – brought things home for Mike, “Where I grew up, people were automatically relegated to doing small, menial jobs, just because they were poor. There was always a level of economic oppression. Through my job, I learned to channel my anger to improve the lives of the working people and neighborhoods I came from.”