Program areas at LELO
King County Relicensing Program: The LELO's Driving While License Suspended in the Third Degree (DWLS3D) program assisted low income drivers who are interested in the recovery of their driver's license. The program accepts any low income person who has an unpaid ticket in King County District Court. The DWLS3D program goals are help individuals navigate the court system, educate then on their rights and advocate for themselves. COVID-19 in 2021 was a challenge for us all. Despite the pandemic, LELO assisted its clients' appeals to Washington State and out-of-state courts and received very favorable outcomes. In 2021, the Re-Licensing Program enrolled 91 clients and 34 regained their driver's licenses.
Domingo Viernes Fund: The Domingo-Viernes Scholarship provides financial support to members of our community who are committed to the principles of justice and equality especially to people of color and women.
APALA: Collaboration with The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO, is the first and only national organization of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) workers, most of who are union members, and APALA works with LELO as partner to advance worker, immigrant and civil rights. APALA and LELO have played a unique role in addressing the workplace issues of the 660,000 AAPI union members and in serving as the bridge between the broader labor movement and the AAPI community. Backed with strong support of the AFL-CIO, the collaboration between LELO and APALA is dedicated to promoting political education, empowerment, and leadership of AAPIs within the labor movement and APA community. Furthermore, our work to defend and advocate for the civil and human rights of AAPIs, immigrants and all people of color, and continues to develop ties within international labor organizations, especially in the Asia-Pacific Rim. Together APALA and LELO organized eight education sessions by zoom.
General Programs & other: LELO General Program strives to empower low-income workers of color, recent immigrants and women workers to assert their rights, improve their working conditions and gain a voice in their workplaces, trade unions and communities in the U.S. and across the globe. Pre-Filing Relicensing Program provides a service-based alternative to criminal charges for some people who have been ticketed by Seattle Police Department for Driving with a License Suspended 3 (DWLS 3). The aim of this program is to reduce racial disparities in criminal cases filed against individuals historically categorized in the criminal justice system as Black, Latino, Asians, Native American/Alaskan Native and the groups of persons of color that we know are not being counted. Sometimes referred to as "driving while poor," this pattern of criminalization presents a huge barrier to people with few financial resources, often trapping folks in a cycle of debt. That is why LELO, in partnership with the Seattle City Attorney's Office, seeks to divert people from criminal charges and instead help people get back on their feet. In 2021 we had 37 clients and 16 of them recovered their driving license. The Tyree Scott International Worker-to-Worker Project keep organizing the Blue Corn COOP which focus in Food Justice and supporting the expansion of the Slow Food Movement. This Project incorporated popular education and international networking tools to educate workers engaged in LELO's local, grassroots organizing campaigns on the issue food justice and human rights. On 2022 the Blue Corn COOP had 20 members and we donate over $8,000 to Mariposa Farm who provide food to us during three months. Eight members got free food because they didn't have money because COVID 19 impacted their income. The Tyree Scott International Worker to Worker Project has been participating with an every week comment of ten minutes in radio news program of Community Radio KDNA, talking about the latest news about immigration, human rights and our economy (total 48 hours). The US Women Cuba Collaboration Program works to build a strong US solidarity movement an explore the opportunity to creating mutually beneficial US-Cuba relations; our work advances the rights of all women in the context of universal human rights.