As leader of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Miguel Contreras (1952-2005) reshaped LA’s unions into a powerful political, economic, and social force. When Contreras was 17, his family attended a rally in support of Senator Robert Kennedy’s campaign for president where they met Cesar Chávez, leader of the United Farm Workers (UFW). Miguel and his father became active in the union and helped to lead strike in Fresno as part of the UFW’s 1973 grape walkouts. In 1977, he was recruited as an organizer for HERE (Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union) Local 2 in San Francisco and, later, appointed International Representative. He helped to rebuild locals in New York, California, and Nevada before being dispatched to Los Angeles to serve as trustee of HERE Local 11 in Los Angeles, where he and Maria Elena Durazo worked together to transform the union to be more inclusive of immigrants, women, and People of Color. In 1993, he was hired as Political Director of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and, following the death of Jim Wood, became the first Mexican-American to serve as Secretary-Treasurer of the L.A. Fed in its history. Under his leadership, the L.A. Fed championed the cause of immigrant rights and became a major force in local, state, and national politics. Contreras served until is death in 2005.

Following his passing, the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE)produced this video documenting Contreras’s life story and his impact on the city’s labor movement and working people.