Born into a home of 10 brothers and sisters in Ilovasco, El
Salvador, Juan Leon left family and familiarity nearly 20 years ago
to pursue economic prosperity in the United States.
While his story is unique, it is not far off from the
experiences of the close to 150 subcontracted workers at UCLA who
came to the United States with dreams of economic success but have
met resistant reality.
Having only been educated up to the sixth grade, Leon speaks
little English but stressed the importance of education in his
children’s lives.
Every morning, Leon starts his day by driving his 10-year-old
daughter, Jasmine, to school in South Los Angeles.
“I hope that my children can study and have a career and
live a better life in a way that we weren’t able to,”
Leon said through translation.
He comes back to his three-bedroom, light pink painted house and
works as a mechanic in his own backyard, fixing up cars from the
local neighborhood.
“You just have enough to get by, so you do what you have
to,” Leon said.
Leon reports for work for the 3:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. shift at
UCLA’s Lot 8 parking structure, where he works as a parking
attendant. For the past four years, he has worked inside the
exhaust-ridden parking lot for $7.30 an hour, five days a week.
But Leon said he has been fortunate in being able to join the
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
““ a union that represents workers throughout the University
of California.
Leon said he believes in the union’s cause and that it
gives him, as well as the other workers, a voice.
“AFSCME runs a general campaign to bring workers back in
house and be hired directly by the university rather than
subcontracted,” said Lead Organizer Brian Rudiger.
“These workers should not be treated like second-class
citizens.”
Leon described the conditions as devoid of benefits, health care
and a retirement plan.
“It’s hard to pay off rent with what I make.
It’s just not enough.” Leon said.
He expressed his desire to attain health benefits for his family
and have sufficient job security without the threat of
mistreatment.
“I deserve a better wage so that I don’t have to
have a second job and then can spend more time with my
family,” he said.
His commitment to providing for his family is a pressing
priority and even while at work, although exhausted, his mind is
consumed by thoughts about his children and what he can do to help
them.
“Even though we have food and a place to live, it’s
hard because I feel a lot of sadness when I want to give them
something they want, but can’t,” Leon said.
After Leon has finished his eight and a half hour shift, he gets
home exhausted and goes straight to bed. He said that he
doesn’t have much free time to enjoy pastimes.
But on the weekends he is occasionally able to play soccer with
his two sons, William, 21, and Jose Brian, 4. He also enjoys
watching old westerns and action movies ““ Steve McQueen and
Sylvester Stallone are his favorite actors.
His partiality for films with action and heroism helps to
explain the idealism that drives him to work so hard so that he can
provide the best for his family.
“With a better job I can earn more money, so then at least
if I can’t achieve the American dream, maybe my children
can,” Leon said. “I still have hope for them.”
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Outside of his steel barred window hangs a small American flag,
emblematic of the hope that he believes the freedom of this nation
has to offer.
“My oldest son put that flag up, because he wants to be a
fireman,” Leon said. “I am very proud of him.”
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Although he has never read “The Great Gatsby” or any
other classic rags to riches story, Leon said he believes in that
same notion of the American dream and that it is still a
possibility, if not for him, then perhaps for his family.
When asked what he thought of UCLA, he stated that it is a good
institution and that he hopes that one day his children will be
able to attend the school. Â
“That’s my dream ““ that my kids would be able
to go and study at UCLA,” Leon said. “I would love it
because then they would have a better life.”