SPRINGDALE — “Make a career of humanity. Commit oneself to the noble struggle for equal rights,” were words spoken by civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King. The meaning of these words, uttered decades ago, is not lost on Ana and Jose Aguayo, members of St. Raphael Parish, who struggle to fulfill these promises in their daily jobs.
Nestled next to shops and businesses on the main street of Springdale, in a small, nondescript house is the Northwest Arkansas Workers Justice Center. The center’s goal is to defend and advocate the rights and dignity of workers and those who cannot always defend themselves.
Front and center to this mission are the brother-and-sister team who have brought attention to these injustices and worked tirelessly to change the system.
Ana and Jose, along with their parents, will be traveling to Washington, D.C., Nov. 11 to receive the prestigious Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award for their work in northwest Arkansas.
Ana, 25, and Jose, 27, are not only the first brother and sister to receive the award, but it is also the first time the award has been granted to Arkansans. The Aguayos will be presented with a $1,000 cash award at a reception held in conjunction with the U.S. bishops’ meeting.
The Cardinal Bernardin award, presented by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, is handed out annually to someone 18 to 35 years old. It recognizes the “leadership, energy and diverse skills that young people bring to the anti-poverty work of low-income projects” and their “Gospel commitment to the poor.”
“I could not nominate one without the other since they have really been a team in making the Northwest Arkansas Workers Justice Center a success,” said Tom Navin, social action director for the Diocese of Little Rock. “When they offered to take on the leadership of the NWAWJC it led me to believe they would be successful.”
Neither Aguayos are strangers to adversity, as both crossed the border from Mexico into California with family members, including their mother and 89-year-old grandmother, in the pre-dawn hours in July 1997.
“I remember seeing the Perseids meteor shower in the sky as we crossed the desert that night,” Jose, who was 11 at the time, recalled. “We were just praying to get to the side where we could see the city.”
From the time they arrived in Springdale, their time in school was consumed with trying to learn the language. When they mastered English, both were encouraged to cultivate their skills.
Both siblings went on to receive bachelor’s degrees from the University of Arkansas. Ana received her degree in international relations and broadcast journalism, and Jose graduated with a degree in chemical engineering. But as they sought to better themselves, they also recognized their responsibility to those who were struggling.
In 2008, the two began volunteering their time interpreting and translating at the center, but it was a case involving 12 Hispanic construction workers who had not been paid their wages that captured their attention and gave them a singular focus.
Interest in labor problems grew as they realized “this could happen to us or our family members,” Ana said. This led them into case management and advocacy for workers on workplace discrimination, wage theft, sexual harassment and workers compensation as well as coordinating labor rights trainings, strengthening worker committees to advocate against labor violations and providing personal development through computer and language classes.
Eventually their work led them to being instrumental in shaping a wage theft bill introduced in the Arkansas Legislature this year. In the past six years, the non-profit agency has assisted in recovering $580,000 in lost wages.
“We try to take a case and explain it from beginning to end, opening eyes to the process of achieving justice,” Ana said. “We try to help them understand the laws and connect the dots.”
Their combined efforts have also led to establishing strong health and safety standards for some 800 poultry processing workers.
After several years of volunteering, Jose was hired as the executive director and Ana joined as the director of development and communications.
“I believe our faith has been influential in our work because the Catholic teachings aligned with the value of human dignity remind us that no matter how poor you are, you can still help the downtrodden,” Ana said.
“I believe in respecting all human beings with compassion,” Jose agreed, speaking on the subject of immigration. “The stigma of being undocumented can make you feel ashamed or depressed, and we do not want others to have that feeling of alienation or being detached.”
“Our work at the NWAWJC has enabled us to put our values into action by letting us advocate for the poor and downtrodden and to uplift and build relationships of love and justice,” said Ana.
“Our Catholic faith goes back several generations and despite the afflictions of the immigration hurdles, our parents reminded us that we were all children of God. They raised us to keep a humble heart, to help others when we are able, and to give back,” she said. “So, we feel that in order for us to love God, we must love our fellow brother and sister and walk this earth with the message to love mercy, do justice and walk along the side with God.”
