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Vaccine Inequity in South LA: United Service Workers West Secretary Treasure and Chief of Staff Alejandra Valles at the LA Union Headquarters in Los Angeles, CA on Tuesday March 30, 2021.United Service Workers West serves 45,000 members, including janitors, security officers, airport employees, who are considered essential workers in order to maintain the economy but live in the hardest hit neighborhoods in South Los Angeles, many in multi-family homes, exposing their loved ones to the virus. “I don't believe that a government on its own is going to have all the solutions. I believe in the people and how we organize and how we are together and how we ensure that our taxpayers are being used to actually serve the communities. It's the best outcomes when you do it together and so what gives me hope is the collaboration and the partnership. Now did it start off that way? No, we had to fight to be there and we had to fight to say hold on we're not gonna be left behind…”, said Alejandra Valles.Community-based organizations have been tasked with ensuring the vaccinations of their own communities, made up predominantly of historically marginalized Black and Latino households, due to California’s State online registration system which favors those who are computer savvy, work from home, and have their own transportation. Understanding the history of systemic racism that has disenfranchised these neighborhoods in South Los Angeles for generations, these organizations have taken on intentional practices to ensure that the people who have been hit the hardest are cared for, are given the necessary, valid information and listened to about their hardships throughout the pandemic and beyond.

Vaccine Inequity in South LA: United Service Workers West Secretary Treasure and Chief of Staff Alejandra Valles at the LA Union Headquarters in Los Angeles, CA on Tuesday March 30, 2021. 

United Service Workers West serves 45,000 members, including janitors, security officers, airport employees, who are considered essential workers in order to maintain the economy but live in the hardest hit neighborhoods in South Los Angeles, many in multi-family homes, exposing their loved ones to the virus.  

“I don't believe that a government on its own is going to have all the solutions. I believe in the people and how we organize and how we are together and how we ensure that our taxpayers are being used to actually serve the communities. It's the best outcomes when you do it together and so what gives me hope is the collaboration and the partnership. Now did it start off that way? No, we had to fight to be there and we had to fight to say hold on we're not gonna be left behind…”, said Alejandra Valles. 

Community-based organizations have been tasked with ensuring the vaccinations of their own communities, made up predominantly of historically marginalized Black and Latino households, due to California’s State online registration system which favors those who are computer savvy, work from home, and have their own transportation. Understanding the history of systemic racism that has disenfranchised these neighborhoods in South Los Angeles for generations, these organizations have taken on intentional practices to ensure that the people who have been hit the hardest are cared for, are given the necessary, valid information and listened to about their hardships throughout the pandemic and beyond.