Lino is a member of the Gamaliel affiliate, CROP (Capital Region Organizing Project). He has been with CROP since October of 2013. Lino was born in Mexico and moved to California in the early 1980s. After moving to San Jose California, he started to become involved in the community and Unions by doing service work. Currently, he lives in Sacramento, where Lino learned about Gamaliel and their affiliate, CROP.
How did you get involved with Gamaliel?
I was asked to attend a meeting last fall just to learn about what CROP was working on in the community. I had an interest in what they were working on and I also wanted to become more involved in my community, so I became a member officially in October. Being a new member, I was advised to attend the National Leadership Training, which I attended in November of this past year. What had appealed to me about CROP was their mission to organize communities that do not have a strong voice.
What are some of your most recent accomplishments?
Locally, I am Vice President of the United Service Workers West Union (SEIU) in the Sacramento region. As for CROP, we are constantly working on immigration, transportation, and several other issues. Recently, there was a walk for immigration and it was a very successful event that included a lot of members throughout the Community. For transportation, we have been meeting with the local transportation Agency, Regional Transit. We are demanding that this agency should focus their attention on providing more accessible and reduced fair transit for low wage people and disabled people.
Do you have a goal that you are working towards for 2014?
Yes in CROP we must consolidate a strong structure to generate power to deliver to people in our Communities. Keep working on immigration reform and transportation, and later expand to other issues such us housing, Environment, Poverty, The privatization of Jails, Etc. In other words working together we can create opportunities to decrease crime in our region, deliver Social and Economic justice, and Protecting Civil Rights as well.
How do you want people to view you as an organizer?
As a Labor leader that cares about our Community and as a member of CROP, I work together with many other leaders to build power to deliver for our people and build a better Sacramento for future generations.
The people living in poor communities in Sacramento Region really need a strong voice to represent their issues including Transportation, Safety, Poverty, Housing, and a voice at their workplaces.
Through CROP, we will deliver an immediate organizing opportunity for everyone in our region.
I want to be viewed as someone who helps my community by servicing and organizing to make a difference. As a former union rep, I am familiar with using my ability to connect with people to ensure they are embodying the values associated with their title. I have been working to give back to the community since 1990, so I really enjoy what I do. As a leader, my priority is that CROP will be successful in my community. Because I share its mission, I strive to reach out to the community and create these opportunities for people around me.