Made in L.A. Education and Organizing Toolkit

This 2-DVD Toolkit contains the Emmy-winning film Made in L.A., six new video modules and a 100-page comprehensive discussion guide, all designed to help worker centers, community and faith-based organizations, nonprofits, unions and other organizations serving low-wage, often immigrant, workers in the United States to:

(1) Engage, train and empower low-wage workers.
(2) Develop organizing skills among workers and staff.
(3) Educate and engage communities and the public about low-wage workers and the organizations that serve them.

This Toolkit is designed for use in workshops, trainings, presentations, community meetings, orientations, leadership trainings, classrooms, conferences and more.

All materials are fully accessible in 12 languages: English, Spanish, Bengali, Cantonese, French, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin (simplified), Portuguese, Russian, Urdu, and Vietnamese.

This Toolkit emerged directly from stakeholders' requests for short, targeted video modules based on Made in L.A. and accessible in numerous languages. It was developed with significant input from organizers in the field.

Disc One:

Made in L.A. (73 min)
Film Trailer (2 min)
Q&A (9 min).
Includes answers to frequently asked questions from the filmmakers and from Lupe Hernandez, one of the protagonists in the film.

Disc Two:

Introduction to the Toolkit (3 min).
This is a "trailer" for the Toolkit and includes a clip of each module.

Module 1: Building Worker Leadership Skills - Maura's Story (13 min)
follows Maura as she overcomes her fear of public speaking and builds leadership and organizing skills.

Module 2: Becoming An Organizer - Lupe's Story (12 min)
follows Lupe as she grows from participating in a boycott campaign to becoming a professional organizer.

Module 3: Women and Low-Wage Work - Maria's Story (13 min)
explores issues that affect women as low-wage workers through the eyes of Maria as she becomes involved with a campaign at a worker center.

Module 4: Worker Centers and Low-Wage Work (13 min)
brings to light the challenges faced by low-wage, often immigrant, workers and introduces worker centers' unique role in serving and empowering them.

Module 5: Immigration and Low-Wage Work (11 min)
explores the historical role of immigrant workers in the United States and helps re-frame recent immigrants' stories within the long history of immigration to the U.S.

Module 6: Short Version of Made in L.A. (33 min).
This short version of Made in L.A. distills the film's value as a motivational
and training tool.

THE TOOLKIT IS AVAILABLE AT THREE PRICING LEVELS:

$249 Universities, Colleges, Museums and Government Agencies
(Also available
for educational streaming from Kanopy)

$89 High Schools and Public Libraries

$39 Non-Profit Organizations and Unions

FREE- The Toolkit is available for free to worker centers
and other organizations serving low wage immigrant workers in the United States.
Free copies are made possible through the generosity of The Ford Foundation
and is being distributed directly to worker centers
by the UCLA Labor Center.

This Toolkit was produced, and is being distributed for free to worker centers,
with the generous support of

Production Support and Oversight by

What organizers say about Made in L.A.:

"The Made in L.A. Toolkit literally quadruples the impact of the original film, which was already an amazing tool for use in classrooms and in the field. The six new video modules, at 12 minutes each, are perfect to show at the beginning of a class to spark discussion on low wage work and low wage immigrant workers, of women and work, of worker leadership/empowerment and of worker centers." - Joann Lo, Executive Director, Food Chain Workers Alliance

"Made in L.A. is very inspiring for the struggles that we face daily in our organization. To those who feel down when they don't see progress... the documentary tells you: ‘you can do it, don't get discouraged!' This documentary is the drop of strength that motivates us to continue!"
- Adrián García, ADP Worker Center/Casa Obrera, Springfield MA

"I was astonished by... the emotional pull of the film. The energy in the room was tremendous... Made in L.A. allowed [the audience] to make connections between their own outrage and concrete actions they could take to join the struggle for social justice."
- Elizabeth Armstrong, Program for the Study of Women and Gender, Smith College

"Made in L.A. shows us how activists are made in struggle through working together to build a more just world..."
- Eileen Boris, Chair, Women's Studies Program, UCSB

"It was a Ladies' Only night... there were tears, smiles, and lots of head nodding. We each recognized our own stories in the movie - some of us had left sons and daughters behind in our home countries, many of us struggle with our partners telling us not to get involved... and some of us had felt those moments of defeat in our community organizing. It is not just a beautiful and powerful movie, it is a wonderful way to bring people, especially women, together."
- Ada Volkmer, Western North Carolina Worker's Center, Asheville, NC

"‘It is possible to transform fear into justice' asserted one of the participants... ‘May the film inspire each of us to work for those who are suffering because of their ignorance of their rights!' The crowd erupted into applause..."
- Ximena Castaneda, Hispano de Tulsa, Tulsa, OK

"Made in L.A. is a breathtaking and deeply touching depiction of the human cost of our immigration crisis... I urge anyone who is uncertain about the need for humane reform to see this movie."
- Congressmember Luis Gutierrez, Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Taskforce

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