For the past 24 years, Instituto Laboral de la Raza has provided counseling and advocacy to low income workers and their families throughout the Bay Area. The Instituto is a non-profit corporation, set up to protect workers' labor rights in the workplace. The Instituto also maintains offices in both San Francisco's Mission District and in Oakland that function as drop-in centers, providing counseling and legal advice.

Instituto Laboral de la Raza was founded on January 2. 1982 by Jose E. Medina and other union workers to combat the economic exploitation, and physical and mental abuse suffered by low income and minority workers at the hands of unscrupulous employers.

Responding to concerns from the immigrant community, the Instituto helped found the Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and Services. The Instituto was also a founding member of the Progressive Way and helped to initiate the Centro Del Pueblo at 474 Valencia Street in San Francisco.

On June 16, 2000, the Instituto expanded its presence in the East Bay with the Grand Opening of its office in Oakland, California.

The Present

In the year 2005, Instituto Laboral de la Raza provided critical labor services to over 2,000 low income, unorganized workers. Over 1,000 of these workers labored without Union protections in the building and construction trades and in service-related industries. Our goal is educate and stabilize unorganized workers while introducing them to the benefits and protections of Organized Labor. We proudly deliver our support for Community Unionism!