In this episode, we chat with Sara, a DACA recipient and telemarketer in Las Vegas. Sara is not the kind of person you can put labels on—you definitely can’t put her in any one box. And that seems to have been written into her life story from the beginning. We talk about what it was like growing up in Southern California, moving between cities with different demographics, different cultures—cities where she had different types of friend groups and where she explored different parts of herself. We talk about how Sara and her brother had to stick together, especially since their mom had to be out working most of the day. We talk about working in fast food and running a cleaning service, and we talk about the leap of faith Sara and her girlfriend made moving to Las Vegas.
We also talk about what it’s been like for Sara to grow up undocumented in the United States. We talk about all the little things Sara and other undocumented folks just can’t do in their daily lives, from boarding an airplane to driving too close to the border. And, of course, we talk about what it’s been like to be a DACA recipient in our uncertain political moment, when anti-immigrant sentiments and policies tear lives and families apart. Like other working folks, Sara’s been through a lot in her life, but it is truly amazing how she doesn’t let anything keep her down, and you can hear in her voice how much she loves and appreciates the people and places close to her.
Additional links/info below (more links coming soon)...
- Paul Fleming & William Lopez, Huffington Post, “Ending DACA Has Created a Looming Public Health Crisis”
- Ariel Ron & Dael Norwood, The Atlantic, “America’s Long History of Exploiting Migrant Workers”
- Sebastián González De León, In These Times, “For Many Undocumented Workers, There’s No Such Thing As a Minimum Wage”
- Joe McCarthy & Phineas Rueckert, Global Citizen, “7 Ways You Can Help Undocumented Immigrants Right Now”
For more info about hotel worker actions…
- Follow hashtags: #OneJobShouldBeEnough & #ChicagoHotelStrike
- Katie Johnston, Boston Globe, “Union Workers to Picket at Seven Marriott-Run Hotels”
- Dave Jamieson, Huffington Post, “Thousands of Marriott Workers to Vote on Multi-City Strike”
- Mitchell Armentrout & David Struett, Chicago Sun Times, “Thousands of Hotel Workers Go on Strike in Downtown Chicago”
For more info on Disney Resort workers…
- See our show notes to Episode #2 (Glynndana Shevlin)
- Rebekah Pederson & Glynndana Shevlin, The New York Times, “I Work at the Happiest Place on Earth. Why Can’t I Pay My Rent?”
- Gabriel San Roman, OC Weekly, “Principal Author of Anaheim’s Living Wage Law Says Disney’s Not Exempt”
- Gabriel San Roman, OC Weekly, “Anaheim Dissolves Disney Subsidies, Declares Peace on Backs of Resort Workers”
- Andrew Gumbel, The Guardian, “‘Pay a Living Wage’: Bernie Sanders Accuses Disney of Dodging Fair Pay”
Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)
- Lobo Loco, "Malte Junior - Hall" - Chad Crouch, “Wide Eyes”
- Cambriana, “Vegas”
- David Hilowitz, “Scattered Light”