(They/Them)
Iris joined TUWU because they grew up in a low-wage immigrant household, constantly watching their family struggle to survive, and through that learned about the different systems of oppression, they knew they wanted to work directly with the Bay Area community. TUWU (then YWU) was the perfect opportunity to do just that. Before TUWU they were not aware of the high level of wage theft that occurs daily until they began working as an outreach coordinator. Throughout their experience as part of TUWU, they have come to understand that there is a great need for TUWU, as a working class, to not only have a space to demand worker rights and stolen wages, but also to raise awareness about the value of work and build camaraderie to organize and take collective action against exploitation.
Iris’ hope is that the organization will continue growing in the Bay Area and further out as a center that workers know they can go to not just to organize, but also to collectively grow their radical imagination and build a different economy where people are put first over profit.