A few years ago, Luz was one of many immigrant Latinas cleaning local hotel rooms in the East Bay for low pay and without medical benefits, handling a heavy workload that put her own health at risk. When the hotel refused to abide by a local living wage law, Luz and her co-workers fought for fair enforcement of the law – and some lost their jobs. In 2007, Luz was trained by WAGES and joined the Natural Home Cleaning (NHC) co-op in Oakland. Finally, she had a healthy job where fair pay and benefits were guaranteed. This steady income has allowed her to send her daughter to college. Luz’s co-op experience has also given her the chance to lead and inspire others: In 2007, Luz represented WAGES and NHC in a keynote presentation to 300 people at a San Francisco Green Business Conference.