This is not really an entirely new story. But, it’s good to see something positive about organized labor — and particularly about a dynamic labor leader.

I have a strong feeling that I will never regret feeling positive about Maria Elena Durazo:

As the head of the hotel workers’ union here in the 1990s, Maria Elena Durazo negotiated a contract with provisions rarely seen by labor unions: The jobs of workers who were deported or lost authorization to work in the United States would be held open for two years, with the same pay.

It was remarkable protection for the immigrant workers who made up the bulk of the union’s membership — and it implicitly acknowledged that many of those immigrants were working without legal papers.

In the years since, Ms. Durazo, 60, has become one of the most prominent labor leaders advocating an overhaul of the country’s immigration policies. As the executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, she presides over what is widely perceived as the most successful group of unions in the country. While union membership is declining nationally, it is growing  in California, and much of that growth can be attributed to Latino immigrants.