After many years of suffering abuse at the workplace, I joined the Laundry Workers Center with my coworkers in 2014 to launch a campaign against the restaurant to demand dignity and respect, not just from Liberato, but all over the Bronx and beyond. I participated in Laundry Workers Center training and after two years fighting against wage theft, verbal abuse, discrimination and sexual harassment, my co-workers and I won the campaign. After winning the campaign and recovering what the company owned, I decided to open my own restaurant called La Essencia. I treat my employees with dignity, respecting the law and their rights. LWC is an amazing organization that supports its members until the end. For me it is admirable how they teach and empower workers.
Now, I am living my dream. My co-workers and the Laundry Workers Center empowered me; now I know my rights. They changed my life. I opened my restaurant to inspire others. Everything is possible if we organize.