Get Involved and Take Action!

Since its release, Made in L.A. has proven to be a powerful tool to engage communities around issues of low wage work, immigrants' rights and organizing, and it has inspired many, many people to get involved with these issues. Here are a ways that you can get involved with both the outreach around Made in L.A. and with the issues that are portrayed in it (to download a one-page "Take Action" flyer, click here)

After the success of our 2009 May Day to Labor Day Community Screening Campaign, we continue to encourage  organizations, grassroots groups, congregations and individuals across the country to organize screenings, houseparties and actions around Made in L.A. in a nationwide effort to put a human face on the issues of immigration, immigrant workers' rights, and supporting humane immigration reform. You can join the movement and start planning your own Made in L.A. event today.

 

1. Educate yourself about immigration policy and take action to support immigrants' rights and humane immigration reform

➢ Educate yourself and don't let others tell you what to think. Explore the "Myths vs. Facts" of immigration and the many resources and links to organizations that we have gathered on our Learn More page relating to immigrants' rights and immigration policy in the United States.

➢ If you want to express your views or influence the process, you may want to write or call your congressperson or other elected officials to let them know how you feel about humane immigration reform. Contact information is available at
www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml or 1-800-FED INFO.

➢ Join or support existing campaigns working towards a solution. Is there current legislation in your city, county, state or in Congress you can support to help create fair immigration reform? We have been working with a number of organizations that have specific proposals and calls to action around supporting humane immigration reform. Some of the groups also offer sample talking points and sample text for contacting elected officials – explore these initiatives to see how you can participate:

America's Voice
Interfaith Immigration Coalition
Immigration Policy Center
American Friends Service Committee
Amnesty International
Campaign to Reform Immigration for America
Center for Community Change
Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM)
Interfaith Worker Justice
National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
National Immigrant Solidarity Network,
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Reform Immigration for America
Sojourners
United Methodist Church

➢ Join or support one of the many local and national groups working towards fair and just policy reform. Besides the organizations listed above, you can find a directory of local organizations on our Learn More page.

➢ Volunteer or support a local organization or worker center providing support for immigrant workers. You can find a directory of local organizations on our Learn More page.

➢ Join marches for humane immigration reform.

➢ Post your opinions and videos on-line and spread the word! Let your friends know how you feel!

2. Be a more conscious consumer and support sweatfree organizing and sweatfree businesses

➢ Shop with a conscience. Join the consumer movement to buy goods made under fair labor conditions! Some anti-sweatshop organizations (including Sweatfree Communities and the International Labor Rights Forum) have compiled this shopping guide, representing a sampling of sweatshop-free apparel products currently available on the market (for a PDF downloadble flyer, click here) and the Sweatshop Hall of Shame 2010, which highlights apparel and textile companies that use sweatshops in their global production. You can also check Coop America's comprenhensive list of Sweat-Free and Fair Trade Products and their amazing Green pages, a nationwide directory of socially and environmentally screened businesses.

➢ Get involved in the sweatfree movement. You can bring the campaign to your community and make sure your business, religious group, school, city council, or state government commits to buying products made in fair labor conditions and holds companies accountable to improve conditions in sweatshops currently in their supply chains. Apparel companies will only change their practices if we create a market for sweatfree products and services! Take action:

 

• Ask your Governor to join the Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium to ensure that your public tax dollars do not support sweatshop conditions. Click here to send a letter right now!
• Learn how your community can help end sweatshops, contact SweatFree Communities to bring the campaign to your community, and check out Co-op America's resources and their free downloadable Guide to End Sweatshops.
• Endorse the Clean Clothes and SweatFree campaign.
• Of course, you can also hold a screening of Made in L.A. to mobilize your community around a sweatfree campaign! It's easy and a great way to kick off a campaign!

3. Get involved in community organizing and social justice efforts

Whether joining an organization, participating in a current boycott, struggle, or social action, donating to a cause, or helping to spread the word, there are a myriad of things you can do to be part of the solution. We encourage you to contact local community and campus organizations to learn how you can get involved locally. For a list of some organizations in the US, as well as many other resources, please visit our Learn More page.

 

The Fledgling Fund
The Philadelphia Foundation
The Diane Middleton Foundation

Made in L.A. Education and Organizing Toolkit
funded by:

The Ford Foundation