Statement from Senator María Elena Durazo on the Passing of Kent Wong

LOS ANGELES – Senator María Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) released the following statement on the passing of Kent Wong, Project Director for Labor and Community Partnerships and former Director of the UCLA Labor Center:

"Today, we have lost a giant in the labor movement and a tireless champion for working people. Kent Wong dedicated his life to building bridges - between workers and communities, between nations, between education and action. At the heart of everything Kent did was his unwavering commitment to protecting and uplifting immigrant workers, whose struggles he understood deeply and whose dignity he fought to defend. His passing leaves a void in our movement that will be deeply felt.

I had the privilege of working alongside Kent for decades, and I witnessed firsthand his extraordinary vision and commitment. In 2007, Kent and I led a historic delegation of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor to China, where we established the first-ever sister-city relations between a U.S. central labor council and labor councils in Shanghai and Beijing. Kent understood that the labor movement transcends borders, and that solidarity with workers everywhere strengthens us all.

As a lecturer at UCLA, staff attorney for SEIU, and founding president of both the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance and the United Association for Labor Education, Kent built institutions that will continue his legacy for generations. His work establishing the UCLA James Lawson Jr. Worker Justice Center and launching the James Lawson Jr./Dolores Huerta Nonviolence Project embodied his belief in the power of nonviolent action to achieve justice.

Kent's influence extended into the halls of the State Capitol. His dedication to nonviolence education inspired Senate Resolution 38, which I introduced in 2023 to promote nonviolence education in California's public schools - a resolution that passed unanimously.

To Kent's family, friends, and the countless students, workers, and activists whose lives he touched - we grieve with you, and we honor his memory by continuing the work he loved. The labor movement has lost a brilliant strategist, a devoted educator, and a beloved friend. His legacy will live on in every worker who stands up for justice, every student who learns labor's history, and every bridge built between communities fighting for dignity and respect.

Rest in power, Kent."

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Senator María Elena Durazo represents the 26th Senate District, which includes Central Los Angeles, Northeast Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, and the City of Vernon.