In Denver’s Globeville and Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods — long shaped by industry, immigrant labor and environmental injustice — two grassroots organizations are joining forces to rewrite the narrative of economic survival.
El Centro de los Trabajadores and Tierra Colectiva, the community land trust of the GES Coalition, have partnered to launch a new worker center aimed at connecting local residents with job training, labor protections and long-term pathways to stability.
But leaders say this effort is about more than just employment.
It’s about dignity, power and building a future that belongs to the people who have called this community home for generations.
“We don’t have to wait for someone else to come and save us,” said Nola Miguel, director of Tierra Colectiva.
“We can build these solutions ourselves — with our neighbors, for our neighbors.”
Rooted in organizing, focused on justice, the new worker center — set to open in the heart of GES — will focus initially on three high-demand industries: construction, hospitality and childcare.
But Mayra Juarez-Denis, executive director of El Centro de los Trabajadores, emphasized that the vision goes beyond skills training.
“We see the whole worker — not just the job seeker,” Juarez-Denis said.
“It’s about connecting them to the right resources, making sure they’re treated with dignity, and helping them dream bigger for themselves and their families.”
This is the third worker center El Centro has established in Denver, but it’s the first rooted deeply in a historically working-class neighborhood like GES — an area facing increasing pressures from development and displacement.
“This is about expanding the opportunities for working-class families to create generational wealth,” Juarez-Denis added.
“Not just any job — but good jobs, with respect, stability and a future.”
Connecting labor justice with housing justice, both organizations find that their partnership was a natural fit.
Tierra Colectiva has spent years organizing to prevent displacement and secure community ownership of land and housing in GES.
El Centro de los Trabajadores has fought to protect workers’ rights and provide pathways to economic advancement.
“Housing justice and labor justice are deeply connected,” Miguel said.
“It’s about building power at the community level — so families can stay, work and thrive right here.”
That local focus, leaders say, is essential in a city where economic development often leaves longtime residents behind.
“We’ve seen too many investments come into neighborhoods and just pass through — never really benefiting the people living there,” Miguel said.
“This partnership is about making sure that when resources come to GES, they stay here.”
A model for community-led solutions is what both organizations aim to establish.
The timing of this initiative feels especially urgent.
Across Colorado and the nation, working-class and immigrant communities continue to face rising costs, labor exploitation and housing insecurity.
But this project — born from community organizing — offers a different approach: one centered on local voices, grassroots power and long-term vision.
“We want this center to be a place of belonging,” Juarez-Denis said.
“A place where workers feel safe, respected, and connected to opportunities that will help their families thrive — not just today, but for generations to come.”
As construction gets underway, both organizations hope this model can inspire other neighborhoods — proving that investing in people, listening to residents and building collective solutions is not just possible, but essential.
“This is the power of organizing,” Juarez-Denis said.
“When workers and neighbors come together, we can create the future we deserve.
image source from：https://coloradocommunitymedia.com/2025/04/16/ges-worker-center/
