The Final Hours of Miguel Contreras

The way power is wielded in this town changed dramatically with Contreras’ passing. Now the head of the Federation of Labor is likely to turn to Villaraigosa for counsel — not vice versa. Now the power is not behind the scenes, but loudly situated in City Hall for all to see.

Even in death, Contreras found a way to marshal his supporters to victory. When officials at L.A. Unified considered naming a new high school after Edward Roybal, the city’s first Latino congressman during the 20th century, union activists quickly swept into action. The campus, they protested, is on the very site where Durazo and Contreras first met.

Honoring the king maker: a young Miguel dreams (Photos by Slobodan Dimitrov)

Workers gather for a vigil on May 11, 2005.

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More About

• Miguel Contreras
• James Hahn
• Antonio Villaraigosa
• Labor Unions
• Jobs and Labor

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Union activists sent letters and packed the boardroom on the day of the critical vote. Four months later, an army of politicians and union workers celebrated in the auditorium of the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex. They watched a stirring DVD about the labor leader whose life began in Dinuba, and ended, unbeknownst to the public, in a tiny storefront on Florence Avenue.