Wells Fargo Protest

This October Casa Latina was involved in national protest through NDLON (National Day Laborers Organizing Network) at Wells Fargo Banks throughout the United States. Our participants were demonstrating to make the case that Wells Fargo should not continue leasing office space to Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Arizona (who once said it was an honor to be compared to the KKK).  Protestors walked the block in front of the Wells Fargo building downtown, chanting and handing out fliers to passersby.  Check out the photos below!

Construction Update!

Last week Casa Latina staff and a few participants went to our new office site to check on the progress.  Everyone was excited to see how things looked.  We can see now a bit of how it will feel when it's all done and we can move in!   We wanted to share some of the excitement with you, so here are a few pictures of our visit.

Hilary and some of our participants sporting their Casa Latina wear by the front entrance to our new offices!

The outside of our new offices still in progress.  Staff basking in the sun and dreaming of moving into our beautiful new space. Can't wait to see the final product!

The inside of the new Day Worker Center.  Our anticipation is building!

Cultural Crossing Visit

This month we had the pleasure of hosting the Cultural Crossing exchange group from Belgium at Casa Latina!  Earlier in the year Hilary went to Belgium with this program that works to encourage dialogue around issues of immigration between practicioners in the United States.  The group started out early in the morning at the Day Workers' Center.

Here you can see the group squeezed into our ESL classroom!

The group also came to the office and talked with the staff.

In the News!

Hey, guess what?

We're in the news! Check out the article on our 'Somos Vecinos/We are Neighbors' program here!

Casa Latina Groundbreaking

On Sept 8, 2008 Casa Latina had its long awaited groundbreaking for its new home.



Marcia Almquist shows off the model of our new campus.

We had great food --- chicken tamales with mole......yum!

inspiring speeches.....

And..... finally....the ceremonial destruction of our trailer, "temporary" office for our Workers Center for 8 years. Mayor Nickels gets ready to do the first ceremonial whack.

King County Councilmember Larry Gossett takes a turn. .....

look at that swing! does he play baseball??!!

Other "swingers" included State Representative Phyllis Kenney Guitierrez, State Representative Sharon Tomiko-Santos, State Representative Zack Hudgins, State Senator Adam Kline, King County Councilmember Dow Constantine, and King County Councilmember Larry Phillips.

Dreaming of a place to look for work with dignity