The SFLC/STEP (Support, Training, Employment Program) was founded in 2001, in coordination with UNITE HERE Local 2. SFLC/STEP has a multi-lingual peer staff (English, Spanish, Cantonese and Mandarin) that includes Felix Fuentes, Annie Kuang and Tina Zhao. STEP was formed to create training, employment services and support to mostly Asian and Latino immigrants, low-income African American members and other hospitality and garment workers. The majority of workers in the STEP program are currently underemployed union members. The majority of the job placements are in self sufficient union jobs, mostly in the hospitality industry. Partners include UNITE/HERE Local 2, Hotel Labor Management Education Fund, United Way of the Bay Area, CCSF, SF Marriott Hotel, SF Hilton Hotel and the Palace Hotel, and funders such as the California Endowment, the US Department of Labor, the Walter and Elise Haas Fund and the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Community Development.
SFLC/STEP’s results to date are among the best in the City. The graduates of our trainings have shown an increase of approximately 25 percent in the self sufficiency rating of workers before their involvement with STEP and CCSF.
Felix, Annie and Tina can be contacted in the STEP office at 415-440-8502, or via email at felix@sflaborcouncil.org; annie@sflaborcouncil.org; and/or tina@sflaborcouncil.org.
