2023 YEAR-IN-REVIEW
¡Feliz año nuevo! Thank you for being part of the Somos familia and supporting our economic and racial justice work in 2023. As we continue to organize for worker’s rights and economic justice for our families, please consider making an end-of-year tax deductible contribution today. ¡Gracias!
Organizing for Essential Worker’s Rights & Quality Jobs
Immigrant workers, not just industry representatives, should have a say in the state’s workforce development strategies. In collaboration with Santa Fe’s Office of Economic Development, Welcoming America, and the American Immigration Council (AIC), we launched Gateways for Growth, an initiative to better integrate immigrants in the City’s workforce and economic development plans. In 2023, we coordinated a working group of local stakeholders and surveyed 120 immigrant workers in six different economic growth sectors. Stay tuned for a report with recommendations to the City Council early next year.
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Somos members also participated in community meetings hosted by the NM Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS) to influence the state’s Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) four-year plan.
We conducted 53 know-your-rights workshops empowering 1,185 workers with information on sick leave, wage and hour laws, health and safety standards, and deferred action status for workers who have pending claims with labor enforcement agencies. We organized 11 worksite committees at cleaning companies, hotels, restaurants and assisted living agencies. 36 workers filed wage theft complaints and recouped $90,538 in unpaid wages and damages.
Advancing Guaranteed Income (GI) & Cash Assistance
This year, we concluded New Mexico’s first statewide 18- month GI pilot for mixed status immigrant families. Partnering with the Economic Relief Working Group and UpTogether, we supported 330 families in 13 counties with $500 a month. The results demonstrated improved outcomes in education, employment, and housing, especially in rural communities. After receiving GI for a year, rural participants reported a 14% increase in employment. The pilot will help us make a case for government-sponsored cash transfer programs as a potent tool in helping low-wage workers get ahead. Check out the final report at nmvoices.org.
To support expansion of GI programs in our state, Somos advocated for a rule change
this year at the Human Services Department (HSD) to ensure future GI recipients in
New Mexico do not face reductions in SNAP/TANF benefits. a crucial step in avoiding
the “cliff effect” when accessing essential safety net services.
Somos also won funding for a DWS feasibility study on how to extend unemployment
benefits to undocumented immigrants and self-employed workers in low-wage
industries such as child and home health care. UNM is currently working with DWS and
Somos to conduct the study which will allow us to launch a 2024 campaign.
Demanding a Just Transition for Immigrant Oil & Gas Workers
Somos continued to expand in southeastern New Mexico to ensure the state uses oil and gas surpluses to invest in
just transition initiatives for fossil fuel workers and families. We hired a new organizer in Eddy County and will
open our fifth worker center in Artesia in 2024.
In 2023, Somos played a pivotal role in securing state funding for two senior
level positions at the NM Economic Development Department (EDD) to
advance energy transition initiatives for frontline communities. We also
conducted a comprehensive study with 100 oil and gas workers in
collaboration with UNM’s Center for Social Research shedding light on
working conditions in the industry and workforce development barriers.
The final report will be available mid-January and it will provide a multi-year
organizing roadmap for our just transition work.
Somos also helped organize a just transition symposium with New Mexico’s Speaker of the House and UNM Law
School’s Natural Resources Journal for policy makers and community groups where we shared our funding and
policy proposals for building out an equitable workforce development infrastructure in the southeast and other
rural communities.
Ciudadanía ¡Ya!
Our citizenship program in Santa Fe and southeastern New Mexico keeps growing every year. In 2023, we held 32 citizenship forums in Hobbs, Roswell, Santa Fe, and Carlsbad with 350 attendees; 133 signed up for our program and are on the path to citizenship. In 2024, we'll expand our unique community-based program, which emphasizes leadership development and voter engagement, to Taos, Española, and Artesia.
Community Solutions to Improve Public Safety
Somos took part in Santa Fe’s Community Health and Safety Taskforce and identified policies to address economic security and public safety for immigrants and low-income families. Our worker’s committee organized focus groups and surveys in collaboration with UNM’s Center for Social Research, resulting in several recommendations to the City Council which include: expanding cash assistance and GI programs for low-wage workers with small children and those in workforce development programs; implementing a citywide language access plan; and providing additional restorative justice and diversion programs for young people caught up in the criminal justice system.
Advocating for Federal Legislation
In 2023, Somos worked closely with U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez to develop the Energy Workers Health Improvement and Compensation Fund Act which would create a federal fund, paid by oil & gas companies, for workers’ out-of- pocket medical and health care expenses. Vasquez also worked with Somos and other local immigrants’ rights groups to develop the Strengthening Our Workforce Act which would support undocumented immigrant workers who fuel our economy by providing a pathway to lawful permanent residency. While these bill introductions will not result in passage of federal legislation by a gridlocked Congress, they contribute to a broader narrative change regarding essential immigrant workers and provide important policy ideas for future immigration and worker’s rights legislation.
Somos Acción Gets Out the Vote for Affordable Housing Transfer Tax in Santa Fe
Somos Acción, Somos Un Pueblo Unido's sister 501(c)(4) organization, played a crucial role in informing and mobilizing Santa Fe voters to support a 3% excise tax on homes that sell for over $1 million to help create a permanent funding stream for affordable housing. Somos knocked on 2,701 doors and talked to 744 low- income voters, as part of the United for Affordable Housing Coalition. The tax will raise an estimated $6 million per year to build more affordable housing and provide rental and mortgage cash assistance so Santa Fe residents who sustain our local economy can live in the city where they work.
What's Next? Our Legislative Priorities in 2024
Somos will continue to grow power for low-wage workers and immigrant families. Our upcoming legislative priorities include: $20 million General Fund investment in workforce development and adult education programs to help immigrant, rural, women, and other disadvantaged workers access infrastructure, green energy and early childhood education jobs. A guaranteed income pilot for workers enrolled in workforce development programs. An increased early childhood education budget for a career and wage ladder for childcare providers.
Save the Date: Immigrant & Worker’s Day of Action
Join us on Monday, January 22nd for Immigrant & Worker’s Day of Action 2024 at the Roundhouse. Hundreds of immigrants and workers will rally to push for state investments for our families and communities.
