CALFORNIA WORKPLACE OUTREACH PROGRAM bY ALAN

Afghan Labor Advocacy Network (ALAN) as a subcontractor for the Sacramento CLC’s Community Workforce Outreach Program (CWOP) campaign. The focus has been on outreach, capacity-building, and providing technical assistance to Afghan workers and broader community organizations. Our efforts have been strategically directed toward creating inclusive and culturally competent engagement methods, fostering partnerships, and empowering Afghan workers to understand and exercise their rights in the workplace.

The Afghan community poses unique challenges due to isolation by language, trauma, immigration status, and cultural practices. Integrating ALAN’s cultural expertise and leadership has been crucial to overcoming these barriers and achieving the CWOP campaign’s goals. The United States Census Bureau defines “Hard-to-Count ” communities as those who are difficult to locate, contact, persuade or interview. Although all our CWOP `target populations’ can be considered Hard-to-Reach, the Afghan community poses a unique challenge. Isolated by their languages, trauma, immigration status, and cultural practices, the Afghan community has been nearly impossible to reach for our coalition. As it stands, our coalition does not have access to outreach materials intended for this population, nor do We have any trusting network to be leveraged to make contact.

All of this is why incorporating the cultural expertise and leadership of the Afghan Labor Advocacy Network (ALAN), is so important to the success of our CWOP campaign. The County of Sacramento has the largest population of Afghan refugees in the United States, and possibly, the world (outside of the Middle East). These Afghan workers are exposed to the same precarious working conditions as their other vulnerable peers, except without the same outreach infrastructure and access to outreach resources that many populations already have established. As a subcontractor of the Sacramento CLC, ALAN will provide vital capacity building, troubleshooting and navigation support for the Afghan community.

CAMPAIGN GOALS AND TARGET AUDIENCES:

• CWOP 4.0 objectives are to reach workers in geographic areas impacted by COVID-19 by informing and expanding awareness on labor laws related workplace health and safety protections, and other resources. The focus is information dissemination and education outreach to workers about the impacts of COVID-19 in the workplace, workplace health and safety laws, paid sick leave benefits rights, and employee protections such as:
• Workplace health and safety
• Leave rights/benefits including paid sick leave
• Workers’ Compensation
• Anti-Retaliation protections
• Worker-related complaint and claim processes and procedures Support filing complaints for workplace non-compliance

Priority demographic populations: Outreach efforts will focus on communities and workers disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and high-risk industries such as:

• Immigrants and refugees
• Families of mixed
• immigration status
• Farm workers
• People who are
• experiencing
• homelessness
• 2S/LGBTQ+
• California legal working age (14-65)
• Older adults (people aged 65 and older)
• Persons with limited English proficiency
• Low-wage workers and their families or dependents

High Risk Industries: Outreach will target industries that present high-risk exposure for COVID-19 transmission in the workplace and include but not limited to:

• Agriculture
• Car Wash
• Food processing,
• including meatpacking
• Food service, including restaurant and grocery and retail
• Janitorial and hospitality
• Warehouse/logistics
• Manufacturing, garment
• Residential Care
• Others as identified by
• CBOs

OUR KEY ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

1. Outreach at Cultural and Religious Events
   Eid Prayer Event (June 17, 2024): Collaborated with local mosques to engage 100+ community members by sharing CWOP materials and services.
   Friday Prayer Events (June–July 2024): Conducted recurring outreach at mosques, distributing over 100 high-quality deliverables across several locations.
2. Peer-to-Peer Engagement
   Engaged Afghan communities through peer-led discussions, addressing workplace isolation, language barriers, and the need for tailored training programs.
   Distributed 75+ CWOP materials to workers and families, providing vital resources to improve workplace awareness.
3. Capacity-Building Efforts
   Translated key outreach materials into Dari, Pashto, Uzbek, and Turkish for accessibility.
   Delivered cultural competency training to enhance compassionate outreach for Afghan, Arab, Persian, Turkish, and Muslim workers.
   Developed bespoke outreach resources to empower Afghan workers with knowledge about their rights.
4. Technical Assistance
   Supported Afghan workers with navigation and legal services.
   Provided consultations to other organizations offering workforce navigation services.
   Delivered culturally sensitive volunteer training programs to strengthen engagement.