Former West Hollywood union president has always advocated for the 'underdog'
For most of his adulthood, former AFSCME Local 3339 President Hernan Molina has advocated for the ‘underdog’.
Molina, who was born and raised in Argentina, was introduced to unions and activism at an early age. During his youth, there was a strong union movement in Argentina and both of Molina's parents worked for the phone company and were union members of the Federación de Obreros y Empleados Telefónicos de la República Argentina (FOETRA). Molina also attended summer and winter camp in Argentina, paid for by FOETRA. The union worked with the phone company to develop social programs for the workers. Also, during this time period, Peronism was a prominent political ideology in Argentina, heavily focused on working with unions to take care of working people.
Molina came to the U.S. undocumented at the age of 24. He was heavily involved with the Democratic Party and participated in social justice causes such as marriage equality and the HIV/AIDS movement. He has always been passionate about advocating for the ‘underdog’. “It always hurt me when people were done wrong,” said Molina. “I came undocumented to this country, and I was in a car when I crossed the border into Texas and the other people in the car, who were born in this country, were asked for papers but I was not. And that irked me really bad because I saw folks that also needed help but were discriminated against.”
He began working for the City of West Hollywood (WeHo) 25 years ago as a council deputy. He showed great interest in policy and lobbying, so his boss turned his passion for advocacy into a job by creating the senior management analysis role. In this role, Molina developed the legislative affairs program where he monitored legislation, worked in tandem with labor organizations, Equality California, and other organizations to tackle social justice issues, making WeHo one of the most progressive cities in the country.
After becoming eligible to join AFSCME Local 3339 (West Hollywood Municipal Employees), Molina quickly became involved with the union. He was elected chief steward by his fellow union members because he wasn’t afraid to speak up. Then he was elected president in 2024. As president, he spearheaded Project Compass which was developed to address toxicity, retaliation, and a lack of input from employees at West Hollywood. In recent months, he has advocated for West Hollywood temporary aquatic workers, who are currently fighting to form their own union. He also urged his local union to start a PAC fund, so they can be more politically involved and get pro-union candidates elected. “The older I got, the more I started to realize the importance of having strong unions,” said Molina. “Because without strong unions, the worker in the job market or the citizen in private life cannot beat the system. The corporations are just too powerful for you to take them on your own and get your fair share.”
And now, after 25 years of working for the City of West Hollywood, Hernan has now reached retirement, however his passion for advocacy will continue in his new home in Brazil. “In Brazil, there is a lot of inequality… I think at the local level I’d like to do something with the municipality of Rio [de Janeiro], to work in literacy programs and civic development,” said Molina. “Also, there is a big push for people, particularly favelas, to become better at advocating for themselves and exercising their civil rights and since I have knowledge of how to do that, I think I can be useful.”
As for his work with AFSCME Local 3339, Hernan will continue to advocate virtually whenever possible, and at his final membership meeting, he encouraged members to become more involved in their union and continue the fight that he led for many years. He is confident that more members will step up and make sure that Local 3339 continues to be a strong union.