City of Aurora issued the following announcement on July 21.
Known as the “Pioneer of Latino Rights in the Workforce,” Emilio Berrios, 99, will serve as the Grand Marshal of the 47th Aurora Puerto Rican Heritage Parade on Sunday, July 28 at noon in downtown Aurora.
Born in 1920 in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, Berrios arrived in Chicago in June 1951 with just three dollars. He paid.50 cents for a taxi to Aurora to join the small Puerto Rican community of just 13 people at the time. A month later, Berrios began working at Aurora Paperboard.
After a year of unfair and unjust working conditions, Berrios and a team of co-workers, including Ramon Aguirre, Angel Lara and Leopoldo Torres, took a stand and complained to the Department of Labor. Under the guidance of the United Mine Workers of America, Berrios circulated a petition to the company’s 150 employees that sought equality for Latino employees. He received support from 132 of his co-workers and began a new labor movement fighting for parity and equity for Latino workers in Aurora. Berrios was later elected president of the local chapter of the United Mine Workers of America.
In 1964, Berrios attended the National United Mine Workers of America convention in Washington D.C. and was the only Latino representative in attendance. Inspired to continue fighting for equal rights in the workforce back home, Barrio joined forces with fellow Aurora civil rights leader Marie Wilkinson to negotiate with Caterpillar and Western Electric. Based on the negotiation, both companies agreed to hire more Latinos. In 1970, Berrios resigned from Aurora Paperboard and began a new career at Nabisco, where he worked until his retirement in 1987, concluding a career of three and half decades that brought substantive changes for the working class in Aurora.
Berrios is the father of 12 children and resides on Aurora’s east side. He looks forward to serving as grand marshal of the parade this year and turning 100 years old next year.
He will be honored by the Aurora City Council on Tuesday, July 23, 2019 at Aurora City Hall, 44 E. Downer Place. A public welcome reception will be held at 5:30 p.m. and a special proclamation will be presented during the Aurora City Council meeting at 6 p.m.
Original source can be found here.
Source: City of Aurora
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