As Denver’s Globeville and Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods continue to face the pressures of rapid development, two organizations are working together to create new opportunities for the community to stay, work and thrive.
El Centro de los Trabajadores, an organization focused on labor rights, has partnered with Tierra Colectiva, the community land trust of the GES Coalition, to bring a new worker center to the area. The center aims to provide job training, workforce resources, and support for local workers — while also expanding community-owned land in a neighborhood that has long fought for housing and economic justice.
To learn more about this new effort and what it could mean for the future of GES, La Ciudad spoke with Nola Miguel, director of Tierra Colectiva and GES Coalition, and Mayra Juarez-Denis, executive director of El Centro de los Trabajadores.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity
🎙️La Ciudad: To begin — for people who may not know — what is this new partnership all about, and why is it important for the GES community right now?
Nola Miguel: Tierra Colectiva began as a grassroots movement to prevent the displacement of longtime residents in the Globeville and Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods. Our work has centered on creating permanently affordable housing, but over time, we’ve recognized the need for broader community ownership — including commercial spaces and workforce development.
El Centro de los Trabajadores has been a strong advocate for labor rights across the city. After working with Mayra Juarez-Denis, she approached us with the idea to bring a worker center into GES. It made perfect sense.
Rather than wait for someone else to bring job opportunities or start a new program, we realized we could build this together. This partnership is about standing in solidarity — combining housing and labor strategies — and creating real, lasting stability in the neighborhood by and for the people who live here.
🎙️La Ciudad: Mayra, what exactly will this new worker center offer to residents of GES? What kinds of training or resources will be available to them?
Mayra Juarez-Denis: This new location in GES will be El Centro de los Trabajadores’ third in the Denver area. We have one near downtown, another on Federal Boulevard, and now this new site in Globeville/Elyria-Swansea.
The new worker center will offer a range of workforce development programs focused on three key industries where there’s currently a high demand for workers: construction, hospitality, and childcare. As we grow and assess additional needs in the community, we hope to expand that list.
But what makes our worker center different is that we don’t just see the worker as someone needing a job — we see the whole person. Just like schools talk about supporting the whole child, we support the whole worker. Yes, we provide technical training and soft skills for today’s economy, but we also connect workers to resources that help their families thrive, like mental health services or legal aid, through trusted partners.
We also work directly with employers, training them on best practices for retention and supporting diverse workforces. And we provide workers with essential information about their labor rights, existing protections, and how to connect with unions or other advocacy partners.
This is why partnering with Tierra Colectiva and GES Coalition makes so much sense. They know this community deeply. We didn’t want to come in and assume we knew what was needed. Instead, we listened to the people who live here — because they are the true experts of their own community.
🎙️La Ciudad: Nola, this project is clearly about more than jobs. It connects labor justice with housing justice. Why is that connection so important?
Miguel: Absolutely. One thing Mayra touched on is that both of our organizations have deep roots in community organizing. And what that means is we both believe that the people most affected by injustice — whether it’s lack of housing or unfair labor practices — are the same people who should be leading the solutions.
We know that jobs and housing are both essential to stability and dignity. But it’s not just about having a job or a place to live — it’s about having power and ownership in shaping those conditions.
This partnership is about collective action. It’s about building shared priorities with residents and creating community-led solutions. It’s not passive. It’s about being actively involved in building a better future together — one that centers the voices of workers, tenants, and longtime residents.
Our vision for justice is rooted in that belief: that the solutions must come from the people living these experiences every day. That’s what unites our organizations and drives this partnership forward.
🎙️La Ciudad: Looking ahead, what is your vision for the future of this new worker center? What impact do you hope it will have on workers and families in the GES community? Could you share an example to help people better understand your vision?
Juarez-Denis: For us at El Centro de los Trabajadores, the vision is very clear. When we began studying the needs of our working-class community, it became evident that we needed to create a pathway where workers could truly advance — not just survive.
We want to eliminate the barriers that have historically held workers back, like language discrimination or being limited to temporary jobs without benefits. Our goal is to create a structure where workers are respected, where they have access to stable, full-time jobs with benefits, and where employers recognize and honor their rights.
Ultimately, this center will provide opportunities for families who have the talent, skills and determination to thrive. It’s about building generational wealth and allowing workers to sustain their families with dignity and pride. Not just any job — but good jobs, jobs with respect and a future.
🎙️La Ciudad: Nola, would you like to add to that, especially around the importance of dignity and respect in this work?
Miguel: Absolutely. In Globeville and Elyria-Swansea, there’s a long and proud history of working-class people and industry. In fact, one thing we often hear from longtime residents is: “We built this city.” And it’s true. The steel produced here helped build Colorado.
But while there is pride in that legacy, there has also been a long history of worker exploitation. Until now, there hasn’t been a dedicated worker center in this community — a place where dignity is expected, and where workers can access training and resources to advance.
This partnership with El Centro gives us that starting point. It’s not just about job training; it’s about creating a space rooted in respect and empowerment.
Looking ahead, we hope this center can expand to include other opportunities, like cooperative business development or a childcare cooperative, which we already have a model for in this neighborhood. But it all begins with the foundation we’re building now — a place where workers feel valued, connected, and supported in shaping a better future for themselves and their families.
That’s what we hope to grow with this Workforce Center; not just jobs, but community, pride and power.
🎙️La Ciudad: Finally, what message would you like to share directly with the community about the power of organizing, solidarity and investing in local solutions?
Juarez-Denis: Even though Nola and I hold titles as executive directors, at our core, we are organizers. And what that means is that we believe — deeply — that the true experts are the people in the community. They know what they need. They know what’s best for their families.
When we respect and honor that knowledge, we strengthen democracy. And right now, more than ever, we need to expand the message that working-class people must have the power to speak up and demand what they need.
Here in GES, and across the city, our working-class communities need institutional support — not just words, but real investment. And to get there, we have to build not only capital but also power within our neighborhoods. Regular people, ordinary folks — they know best what they need for themselves and their families. This worker center is a reflection of that — it’s about creating institutions that exist for the people, not for outside interests.
Our partners, like GES Coalition and Tierra Colectiva, know this community well. They have earned trust. Together, we are putting workers at the center of every effort, building something rooted in their needs and dreams.
Miguel: I completely agree with Mayra. What we’re building together — both in housing and workforce development — is really about community readiness. When opportunities or funding come to a neighborhood, too often it doesn’t reach the people it was intended to help. Sometimes money gets invested, but it doesn’t stay in the community — it passes through without lasting impact.
That’s why it’s so important that this partnership is built on shared priorities identified by neighbors themselves. When investment arrives, we’ll be ready. We know how to manage it, how to keep it rooted here, and how to make sure it benefits families directly.
Especially when we’re talking about long-term community assets, like housing or workforce development, it’s essential to create structures that hold and sustain that investment within the community — not just for now, but for future generations.
🎙️La Ciudad: Finally, Mayra, I want to come back to you for a closing thought. What is your vision for the future of this new worker center? How do you see it evolving in the next few years?
Juarez-Denis: For me, the vision is very clear. We want this center to be a place where workers feel safe — truly safe — and where they feel a sense of belonging.
And when I say safe, I don’t just mean being able to speak freely. I mean a deeper kind of safety — the kind that comes from knowing that this is a place you can trust. A place where workers will be connected to employers who respect their rights. Where they know their dignity as workers will be protected.
I see this center as a space where working-class families can dream big together. Not just about getting a good job, but about building a future — about entrepreneurship, about new opportunities, about breaking barriers for the first generation and those to come.
This center will be rooted in community. It will connect people to resources that truly benefit them — not just for today, but for their children and future generations.
That’s what we’re building here. We’re dreaming big because we know our working-class families deserve it. And I believe that once people see the impact — once they see the dignity, the talent, the hunger to thrive within our community — more and more resources and support will follow.
We have the right partners. We have the right timing. And most importantly, we have the right people — our neighbors, our workers, our community. And that’s what makes me so hopeful about what’s ahead.