Category: Newsroom

Workers Defense, Rep. Walle file Heat Safety Bill

March 6, 2024 If passed, the bill would require certain employers to provide heat safety protections to employers and collect heat safety related data  AUSTIN – Texas State Representative Armando Walle has filed House Bill 3982 also known as the Worker Heat Illness, Injury, and Death Prevention Act, which seeks to provide a consistent statewide […]

PRESS RELEASE: Workers Defense Announces Lizeth Chacón as Co-Executive Director

Contact: Juan Benitez, juan.benitez@workersdefense.org, (512) 466-9258 AUSTIN, TX — Workers Defense today announced that it has appointed Lizeth Chacón as its Co-Executive Director. In this new role, she will co-lead Worker Defense Project and Workers Defense Action Fund into its next phase of building power for low-wage construction workers in partnership with Emily Timm, the organization’s […]

Meet Our New Co-Executive Director: Lizeth Chacón

Dear Workers Defense family,  After a nationwide search, the Board of Workers Defense is excited to announce that Lizeth Chacón will become our next Co-Executive Director, joining current Co-Executive Director and Co-Founder Emily Timm in leadership. In our search for a leader to steward our family of organizations, we centered our members’ collective vision of […]

Ana Gonzalez’s 6 Years of Service at Workers Defense

Over the past six years, Ana Gonzalez has been an integral part of Workers Defense. She’s led with heart supporting our members at the Texas Legislature and taken on tremendous fights to move the needle forward in policies that improve the lives of construction workers throughout the state. After six incredible years and victories for […]

Stephanie Gharakhanian’s 8 Years of Service at Workers Defense

Over the last eight years, Stephanie Gharakhanian has fought alongside our members to achieve economic justice for workers throughout Texas. Our members know her for her work to recover unpaid wages and as a true visionary in campaigns to win better working conditions — including rest breaks, paid sick days, immigration reform, and her work […]

In response to Harris County Sheriff Gonzalez’s Pending Nomination as ICE Director, Advocates Demand Accountability and Bold Action

Earlier this week, immigrant rights and criminal justice advocates were shocked to learn that Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez was nominated by the Biden Harris Administration to lead U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), a federal immigration enforcement agency rooted in imperialism and white supremacy, and responsible for numerous human rights violations.

After One Year of Freedom City Policies, Community Groups Call on Austin Police Department to Fully Comply

Austin, TX — On June 14, 2018, following a long community-led campaign, the Austin City Council unanimously approved the Freedom City Policies, a community-based response to local entanglement with federal immigration enforcement and racial disparities in arrests by the Austin Police Department (APD). To mark the Policies’ one-year anniversary, immigrants, community groups and residents reflect on their impact […]