RAYLEEN HSU Former UCLA laundry facilities employee
Carmen Paredes listens to her instructor,
Leticia Flores, who teaches grammar to her English
as a Second Language class.
By Laura Rico
Daily Bruin Contributor
An English as a Second Language program for former UCLA laundry
facility workers culminates in a graduation ceremony Friday for
those who have completed the yearlong program.
Twelve of the workers, now all UCLA Medical Center employees,
will receive certificates for completing the program and achieving
a satisfactory level of English language skills.
“I love my classes, and it has helped me to improve my
English since I knew very little when I started,” said Carmen
Paredes, a patient escort. “I practice my English with the
patients and with the other workers.”
After shutting down the laundry facility last July to reduce
hospital costs, the university started using temporary,
subcontracted workers for laundry work. This left laundry workers
with uncertain futures, said Jim Justiss, manager of employee
relations and workers’ compensation.
For those who moved from their jobs at the laundry facility to
the Medical Center, Justiss said the change in environment made
many workers nervous.
“The new setting was a big change for them,” he
said. “The jobs require them to be more active and
communicative with the hospital staff, while the laundry facility
was a more sheltered environment where they did not interact much
with others.”
The ESL courses, which ran three times a week for two hours,
teaches basic English vocabulary and grammar as well as technical
terms used in the hospital.
“The workers need to know names of locations, medical
equipment, chemicals they may handle, as well as the meaning of the
signs posted around the Medical Center,” said Leticia Flores,
the hospital’s interpreter and the program instructor.
For many of the workers, the program provided a return to the
classroom after many years.
Minelia Tello, who worked in the laundry facility for 22 years
and now works as a catering services employee, said she joined the
program to help her qualify for a better position in the
hospital.
“I only went to elementary school, and I quit to work and
to raise my children,” Tello said. “I like the
opportunity I have to study English, and I hope to take other
classes that will help me get other jobs.”
Participants of the program work in various departments within
the Medical Center. Some work as patient escorts, others in
catering, environmental services and housekeeping.
Employees received permission from their supervisors to take
time off for instruction while still receiving pay, Justiss
said.
Martha Gonzalez, a housekeeping department employee, said the
program requires a lot of effort and commitment, but it is
worthwhile because of the service it provides.
“I try to take advantage of the program. I attend every
session, I do my homework and I am very grateful to UCLA for giving
me this opportunity,” Gonzalez said.