New Mexico is experiencing unprecedented surpluses in the state’s general fund, due in large part to the hard work of immigrants in key industries like oil and gas.
Despite outsized contributions to the economy, immigrant workers remain vulnerable to rights violations and are often excluded from public benefits, skills-building opportunities, and pathways to economic mobility.
As policymakers strategize how to diversify the state’s economy and shift away from fossil fuel dependence, immigrants and other disadvantaged workers are working to help shape an equitable economy that ensures access to quality jobs and better living standards.
Somos’ Worker Justice Campaigns
Immigrant inclusion in public benefits and economic support programs, such as unemployment benefits
Reform of traditional safety net systems to increase direct cash assistance and guaranteed income
Equitable workforce development opportunities for immigrant, low-wage, and rural workers
Improvement of workplace safety standards, wages and benefits, and enforcement of labor rights
Tax and budget fairness for low-income families in rural areas subject to historic underinvestment in social infrastructure
United Worker Center of New Mexico
Somos founded the United Worker Center of New Mexico in 2012, where workers:
Learn about labor rights and remedies
Get help filing wage claims and other administrative grievances (i.e. wage and hour, sick leave, health and safety, and discrimination complaints)
Form worksite committees to organize for improved working conditions and counter retaliation
Organize campaigns to support worker’s rights and improve benefits
Participate in leadership trainings, legislative advocacy activities, and meetings with elected officials
Wage Theft and other Employment Violations
One in four immigrant workers in New Mexico is a victim of wage theft, but only one in ten victims reports it. In 2009, Somos launched an ongoing statewide campaign to end wage theft after receiving numerous complaints from workers who were not paid the minimum wage or overtime, were required to work off the clock, or were denied their final paycheck. Since then, we’ve helped New Mexicans recover over $2.5 million in stolen wages and damages.
