María Elena Durazo

María Elena Durazo (born March 20, 1953) is a Mexican-American politician. She is a California State Senator. She represents people living in Central Los Angeles and East Los Angeles. That is the 24th State Senate district. She was a labor organizer.Labor lead. (2006, May 22). Los Angeles Business Journal, 28(21), 4.  She was the first female leader of the Los Angeles County Labor Federation. Durazo is a member of the Democratic Party. 

 Early life 
Durazo was born in 1953. Her family traveled between California and Oregon harvesting crops. Her parents had eleven children. She was the seventh child in the family. She graduated from St. Mary's College in 1975. After several years of working, Durazo completed a law degree from the People's College of Law.

At college she got involved in the Chicano Movement.

 Career 
In 1983 Durazo started work as an organizer for the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (UNITE HERE). It was called the International Ladies Garment Workers Union at that time. 

In the 1980s the union leaders were trying to decide if they wanted to help immigrants who were taking jobs in the Unite States. Some union leaders thought that immigration was bad for older union members. Durazo did not want national union organizations to make all the decisions for people in Los Angeles. Many of the workers in Los Angeles were immigrants. Durazo fought for local union chapters to have some independent power. 

In 1989, Durazo was elected President of her local HERE chapter, Local 11. During that time, she was became a member of the Executive Board of HERE International Union. In 2004 she was elected the Executive Vice President of UNITE-HERE International. She was also the National Director of the Immigrant Workers' Freedom Ride (2003), was on the National AFL-CIO's Immigration Committee (2000-2004), and continues to be a Chair of National AFL-CIO's Immigration Committee.

She was the treasurer of the Los Angeles County Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, from 2006-2014. She was appointed to the job when the serving head resigned because he was caught cheating in the elections. However, she was reelected as President in 2010. Durazo continues to serve as the Executive Vice President of the governing Executive Council of the national AFL-CIO.

Los Angeles Mayors Tom Bradley, Richard Riordan, and Antonio Villaraigosa all appointed Durazo to city commissions. She served as a vice chair for the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Durazo was a co-chair for both of President Barack Obama's presidential campaigns.

Durazo was elected to the State Senate in 2018. She is the chair of the Latino Legislative Caucus.Esparza Loera, J. (2022, April 13). POLITICS Latino Legislative Caucus identifies 20 priority bills. Fresno Bee, The (CA), p. 1A. Available from NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current.

 Personal life 
In 1987 she married Miguel Contreras. He was also a labor organizer.

References

Category:Living people
Category:1953 births
Category:American labor leaders
Category:Democratic Party (United States) politicians
Category:Politicians from Los Angeles