 Interview with Nancy Morales and Juan García |
SCB: Why is this issue of job safety for teens important to you?
NM: Because I’m still a teenager and my sister and my friends are still young and they’re going to grow up and eventually look for jobs while they’re in school. I want them to know that they have rights in the workplace because many of them aren’t aware of their rights. They don’t know about workers' compensation, issues of sexual harassment and discrimination in the work place, and that there are actual agencies that can help you and that you’re not alone. There are many teenagers who need to know this information.
SCB: Do you feel that people in your community are not aware of their rights as workers?
NM: Yes. I’ve had different jobs where I didn’t know what to do or where to go and thought, "This isn’t right." And now I know that it wasn’t right and that I could have done something. But without knowing what to do, I couldn’t do anything. And I think other people feel the same way I did. So I try to educate young people so they can go to their families and to people they know and, through word of mouth, inform people in the community about their rights.
SCB: Why do you feel that this program is important?
JG: Juan: I am here because UCLA-LOSH taught me everything I know about work place rights and getting involved in my community. I think this is important because many teenagers work, over 80% of high school graduates have worked at one point in their high school careers. For many students, these are their first jobs. So many get exploited. They don’t know their rights, they want to impress their employer or their manager and they try to do everything really fast without thinking about their safety. Over 70 kids each year die in the United States and over 64,000 get injured every year to the degree that they have to go to the emergency room. Many of these teens are afraid to speak up. I worked when I was 15 and I knew a lot of my peers worked. Many of us got paid minimum wage, but we had to work extra long hours that left us with very little time to do homework. I think the main reason why I’m here is because I understand that many teens need to earn money to help support their families, especially in poorer neighborhoods. It’s not right for employers to take advantage of them. It’s good for teenagers to be motivated and encouraged to step up for themselves and to demand something more beneficial for them, because they deserve better. The most beautiful thing is that these teens spread the word. They take the information home to their aunts and uncles and hopefully these people can make a difference in their own lives.
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