UFE welcomes the newest member of our team - Victor Urquiza, Workers' Rights Organizer. Based in our Durham, NC office, he will coordinate the Raising Wages NC coalition and support worker organizing statewide.

How did you first get involved with economic justice work?

I remember seeing the exploitation that my parents and other workers faced as being undocumented laborers throughout my childhood. As a young adult, I worked in hotels and restaurants with other undocumented workers who faced exploitation, racism and alienation. As I became older and began to develop my political conscience in college, I began to understand that these exploitative conditions were a part of a much larger struggle that interconnected with other prevalent social issues.  

What are you most excited about in your new role with UFE?

North Carolina has been ranked the worst state for workers. I am excited to begin expanding the labor movement to fight for a higher minimum wage and better working conditions for all workers in North Carolina. There is a mass revival of class conscience amongst low-paid workers and it is crucial that we continue organizing, mobilizing and fighting for labor rights. 

How do you rest and restore outside of work time?

I enjoy reading, writing and going to the gym in my free time, as well as spending time with my partner, friends, family and four cats. 

What is one thing you'd like to share about yourself with the UFE community?

I have aspirations of receiving a P.h.D in political science and becoming a professor. I truly believe in the intrinsic value of education and the need of working-class LatinX individuals in higher education to push radical and progressive ideas for the future generations.

Victor, third to the right, facilitates a Durham Workers Assembly meeting in Durham, NC in the Fall of 2023

Click here to read more about Victor's passion for organizing and his research and analysis about political economic conditions in the US and Mexico!