Our Mission

Voz is a worker-led organization that empowers diverse day laborers, including domestic workers, and immigrants to improve their working conditions and protect civil rights through leadership development, organizing, education and economic opportunity.

Voz Workers’ Rights Education Project is the only organization in the state of Oregon working with the day laborer community. Day laborers are temporary workers, many of them immigrants, many of them homeless, many of them facing multiple barriers to long-term employment. We build leadership and economic power in this community through economic empowerment, leadership development, and grassroots organizing. Voz has almost 20 years of experience organizing day laborers in Portland, and we are a founding member of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, which includes over 70 Worker Centers around the country.

Voz believes that sustainable and transformative social justice work must be led by the communities most affected. At Voz, we model this philosophy by striving to be a fully worker-led organization, and by empowering Portland day laborers not just through economic opportunities, but through opportunities to become leaders in their community. The day laborer community is a diverse group of leaders and organizers from around the world, who bring their skills, knowledge and life experiences to our struggle for a better future for immigrant workers in Portland.

Our Guiding Principles

Voz is committed to: