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PROFILE | PABLO ALVARADO
Advocate Has Walked in Day Laborers' Shoes
The Salvadoran immigrant's efforts have helped preserve the workers' rights and brought national attention to their cause.
By Anna Gorman
Times Staff Writer

January 23, 2006

The day laborers were furious. Undercover Redondo Beach police officers had staged a sting operation and arrested more than 60 workers for allegedly violating a city ordinance barring curbside job solicitation.

Pablo Alvarado and his team of organizers immediately mobilized, planning a march on City Hall and recruiting attorneys to file a lawsuit against the city. During the rally in November 2004, Alvarado marched and chanted alongside the workers. A few months later, a judge temporarily blocked the city from enforcing the ordinance.

As head of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, Alvarado defends the civil and labor rights of workers nationwide. He pushes for job centers, promotes a positive image of laborers and lobbies politicians on their behalf.

Alvarado, 38, has vaulted to the national spotlight as cities from Burbank to Baltimore struggle â€â€