La Mujer Obrera began in 1981 by displaced women garment workers seeking to improve the quality of life for low-income Hispanic families and revitalize the former Garment District (Chamizal neighborhood) where many women worked before the loss of 35,000 jobs in that sector. La Mujer Obrera advocates on issues related to the impact of globalization in the economic and social human rights of Mexican immigrant women and their families on the U.S. Mexico border. We are demonstrating the capacity of women workers of Mexican heritage to plan and implement an economic development vision for our community based on basic human needs and rooted in dignity, culture and respect for the earth.
Today, La Mujer Obrera is an internationally acclaimed community-based organization creating cultural and economic development that recognizes Mexican immigrant worker’s heritage and contributions to El Paso. Our efforts to preserve, adapt, and present the diverse historic and living traditions of the Mexican people are integral to fulfilling the most basic needs and uphold the most basic human rights: access to education, work, health, housing and nourishment, the right to live in peace and participate fully in civil society.
Our process is based on who we are in our border community- we seek to nurture the leadership of women workers who have been ignored by politicians and who we know are the backbone of this community. We believe in the right to design and implement our own vision of community development. We advocate for community development rooted in dignity and justice, and to date, we have established multiple social enterprise projects to include: Rayito de Sol Daycare, Café Mayapan, Mercado Mayapan, & Lum Metik Trading Co.