LOS ANGELES – Lilia García-Brower was sworn in Monday as the chief of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement at the California Department of Industrial Relations. García-Brower served as the executive director of the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund (MCTF) for nearly 20 years, helping to grow the organization into one of the most formidable and effective watchdog organizations in California.
“Lilia took an infant, skeleton operation and transformed the MCTF into a nationally-recognized model for exposing unlawful business practices and holding law-breaking employers accountable,” said Richard Dotts, MCTF Board President. “She has been an incredible executive director and we look forward to continuing to work with her in her new role as Labor Commissioner.”
Yardeena Aaron and Rafael Ventura will serve as interim co-executive directors while the organization conducts a national search for García-Brower’s successor. Along with a strong team, they will lead MCTF’s work to expose the underground economy and advocate for janitorial workers.
“It has been an honor to work with and learn from a fearless and skillful leader like Lilia,” Aaron said. “Since 2000, she has shown us all how to advocate for workplace fairness as well as ourselves, both as people and workers. We are excited about her new position and prepared to keep fighting against unfair and illegal business practices in the janitorial industry.”
“Lilia is a champion for workers everywhere. She helped build much-needed bridges between exploited workers, responsible undercut employers, and enforcement agencies,” Ventura said. “These partnerships have helped thousands of janitors across California and the MCTF will continue this critical work to protect vulnerable workers from labor exploitation.
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The MCTF is a California statewide watchdog organization whose mission is to abolish illegal and unfair business practices in the janitorial industry. The MCTF investigates allegations of employment law violations and partners with local, state, and federal enforcement agencies to hold unscrupulous contractors accountable.