California state senator, Maria Elena Durazo, congratulates SIATech high school graduates. On June 4, 2020 SIATech held it's first virtual graduation where students were able to receive their high school diplomas. She goes on and speaks about the coronavirus pandemic, and recent events of racism and inequalities.
Like many others who have come to play a role of the labor movement in California, Durazo got her start amongst farmworkers. As the daughter of Mexican immigrants, she spent summers in the Central Valley fields picking peaches, strawberries, and grapes. Cesar Chavez, founder of the United Farmworkers of America, inspired her to get involved in the fight for equal rights. Durazo attended St. Mary's College in Moraga, California and graduated in 1975. In 1985, she earned a law degree from the Peoples College of Law in Los Angeles, before beginning her involvement in the labor movement as an organizer for the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
