Spotlight on Activists: Lessons from Guanica

Growing up in Guanica taught Sandra Pacheco early on that working to improve people's lives is really a fight for justice. Located on Puerto Rico's southwestern coast, this seaside town's scenic beauty belies the teeming poverty that most of its 18,000 residents endure. Government neglect has also deprived them of basic services like a sewage system. Pacheco — an office clerk in the Departamento de Transportación y Obras Públicas (Transportation & Public Works) and president of SPU's Local 3889 — recalls how the town used to flood with every rain.

"People were angry but did nothing," she says. "That's when I realized that turning their anger into action might accomplish something." Returning to her hometown after earning a college degree in public administration, Pacheco spurred residents to organize self-help projects. Within weeks, families and friends were all pitching in to build a much-needed canal system that stopped the flooding in their neighborhood.

"This initiative tapped our people's inner resources — their ideas and talents — allowing them to unleash a power they never thought they had," Pacheco points out. "That sense of community empowerment has opened up new possibilities."

During SPU's organizing drives three years ago, Pacheco drove home the same message to her co-workers. They responded enthusiastically by voting for a union and ratifying their first contract.