From Kent Wong, teacher of Labor Studies and Ethnic Studies at the UCLA Labor Center, Vice-President of the California Federation of Teachers and member of HELU member union AFT 1474
On July 10, 2025, 1,443 people gathered at the Los Angeles Convention Center for the largest nonviolence training in the history of the city, and perhaps the country.
The event was sponsored by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, with the support of UNITE HERE #11, the UCLA Labor Center, and the Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice.
The training brought together a broad cross section of union, community, and faith leaders. The curriculum used was inspired by the teachings of Rev. James Lawson Jr., who passed away in 2024 at the age of 95. Rev. Lawson was a good friend and comrade of Martin Luther King Jr., and the two men worked together to recruit and train a new generation of Civil Rights activists, including John Lewis, grounded in the philosophy of nonviolence. For 50 years, Rev. Lawson taught nonviolence to activists in Los Angeles, working closely with unions including the hotel workers, janitors, and home care workers.
Mayor Karen Bass was the first speaker, followed by a broad cross section of labor, community, and faith leaders including Yvonne Wheeler, President of the 800,000-member Los Angeles County Federation of Labor; Cecily Myart-Cruz, President of UTLA; Kathy Finn, President of UFCW #770; Max Arias of SEIU #99; Pablo Alvarado from the National Day Labor Organizing Network; and Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, who previously was an organizer with UNITE HERE #11. Kent Wong from the UCLA Labor Center was the evening’s MC.
The event recruited more than 200 facilitators who were trained on July 1 at the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. At the convention center, each facilitator worked with a table of ten people on how to apply nonviolence to the current crisis in Los Angeles. There were two nonviolence scenarios. The first was a simulated ICE raid, and the second was a march and rally with a heckler trying to disrupt the event.
The final section presented a three-part call-to-action:
1) To mobilize to stop deportations, and encourage people to participate in “know your rights” training and rapid response teams;
2) To support “labor in the pulpit” activities, to mobilize stronger labor, faith, and community coalitions to build the resistance;
3) To organize support for union and economic justice struggles.
The training addressed the violence being perpetrated by the Trump Administration, through raids that are terrorizing immigrant communities and separating children from their parents. The immigration raids reflect an abuse of power, violation of constitutional rights, and blatant racial profiling.
Los Angeles has emerged as the focal point of Trump’s war on immigrants. Trump has mobilized 4,000 national guard troops and 700 marines, against the wishes of the Mayor of Los Angeles and the Governor of California.
On July 7th, U.S. soldiers staged a military maneuver complete with troops and armed vehicles in MacArthur Park, a Latino working class neighborhood in Los Angeles. On July 10th, the day of the nonviolence training, ICE staged a raid on a cannabis farm in Ventura County and arrested more than 100 people. A farmworker who had worked there for more than 10 years died while falling from the roof during the chaotic raid.
The tremendous turn out with only two-weeks’ notice represents tremendous sentiment from labor and community activists who are committed to take collective action in the face of repression. Already, more nonviolence trainings are being scheduled for Orange County, San Diego, and Arizona.
