The Western Service Workers Association (WSWA) Sacramento, on July 29, celebrated its 49th year in the Sacramento region, including Galt.
This all-volunteer, unincorporated, private membership organization focuses on assisting low-income service and domestic workers and their families.
Adhering to its motto, “In unity there is strength,” WSWA Sacramento invites professionals, business owners, clergy and students to help people who are struggling through a free, self-help, 11-point employee benefit program low income.
This program, which aims to reverse the conditions of poverty, is made possible through great support throughout the local communities.
Features of the 11-point benefit program include emergency food and clothing services, preventive medical care, non-emergency dental care and legal counseling.
Elena Sanchez, a full-time volunteer organizer and operations manager for WSWA Sacramento, praised Galt’s support of the organization’s efforts.
“We have a strong base of support in Galt,” she said. “This is very significant because our organization expands across the region and we couldn’t do it without that support.”
At WSWA Sacramento’s longevity celebration, Sanchez spoke about the people who founded the organization.
“Our organization was founded by domestic workers – that’s what they were called then – domestic workers, and from day one, no interest other than the workers themselves has been served by the WSWA,” she said. “So it (was founded) by and for the highest paid workers in (the region), starting with domestic workers.”
Sanchez emphasized that it is WSWA Sacramento’s independence that allows the organization to achieve its many goals of helping low-income and working members.
“No government funding, and then no funding with strings attached,” she said. “Since 1973, it has always been by and for low-income, working people.
“We say that, when a mistake is made, there is a group of people who are wronged, and no one knows better than them what a solution looks like, because they suffer from the lack of a solution. So we want the guiding star, so to speak, to always be those who are most affected by the problems.”
Derek Bruner, administrative assistant of WSWA Sacramento, told the Herald that the organization’s 49th anniversary stands as a testament to its strength and resilience.
“We’ve been around since 1973 and we’ve never closed our doors, especially throughout the pandemic,” Bruner said.
Sanchez mentioned that this organization is going strong at a very challenging time in its history.
“In a very difficult time in our country, we can still come together with people from all different backgrounds to celebrate both victories, but also to encourage everyone for the work ahead,” she said.
Sanchez added that it is important for WSWA Sacramento to support the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which promotes peace, sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty, including extreme poverty.
“We advocate for them, we support them, we promote them,” she said.
In a show of appreciation for its many supporters, WSWA Sacramento held an anniversary dinner with an evening of entertainment and messages of appreciation for the long efforts of those who have tried to continue and expand the success of this organization.
Among the entertainers at the July 29 event were DJ Sabor Latino, keyboardist Kevin Sumner, vocalist Ingrid Tejada and the Brazilian Center for Cultural Exchange of Sacramento. Flavio Soria served as the celebration’s master of ceremonies.
While standing on stage at the Midtown Church event, Sanchez shared some details about WSWA Sacramento.
“Our membership is now over 41,000,” she said. “Our headquarters is located south of Oak Park, in a building acquired for the benefit of our membership, along with an acre of property that gives us more room to grow, and we are growing.
“Since 1974, we have maintained a field office in Del Paso Heights, the Worker Community Service Center.”
Sanchez added that in 1977, the organization’s Workers’ Benefits Council recognized that there was a great need for quality, affordable health care services for domestic workers and the families of low-wage workers.
“(As a result), volunteer physicians and other medical professionals formed (the) Coalition of Concerned Medical Professionals, or CCMP, as an all-volunteer association to demand the right of low-wage workers to (gain) access to care full medical,” she said.
Sanchez commended the CCMP for helping members of her organization “through thick and thin” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Orlando Fuentes, who serves as board director of the Cosumnes Community Services District, was attending the celebration as a member of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the largest and oldest Hispanic membership organization in United States.
Fuentes explained why he is drawn to WSWA Sacramento’s efforts.
“West Service workers serve the poor and the poorest of the poor, especially those who fall between the cracks,” he said. “I really admire the work they do. They are people at the base. No one gets paid, it’s a volunteer organization and they achieve great things.”
Bernie Buenrostro, who is also a member of LULAC, spoke about his organization’s support for WSWA Sacramento.
“We’ve supported them for many years – maybe as many as 10,” he said. “We collect clothing and provide clothing for their organization. They help the working poor. We are in favor of this. We like to help in any way we can.”
Dave Roland, a strategic planner with the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District, told the Herald that attending the July 29 event gave him a greater love for the community and WSWA Sacramento.
“Beautiful people on parade,” he said. “Because of the cordiality and warmth of the event, I was really moved to engage and support the workers’ association as they unite, work and pull each other by the belts. I’ve been volunteering (for WSWA Sacramento) since 2019 and it’s been a great thing in my life.”
“They may be small, but they are mighty.”
For additional information about the Western Service Workers Association, call 916-456-1771 or visit the website, www.wswasacto.org.
