BIOGRAPHY
Matthew Leyba-Gonzalez has made a difference for the working families of Imperial Beach and throughout San Diego County – as a local organizer, as a US Army Reservist and as a labor relations representative.
Matthew has dedicated his career to fighting for better jobs with fair pay and benefits for local families – while strengthening the local economy and expanding apprenticeship programs, job training and worker safety. He currently serves our area as a Labor Relations Representative in the Organizing Department for Laborers Union Local 89.
In that capacity, Matthew has helped make sure many important community infrastructure investments are safely and properly built – including hundreds of structures at local schools, community colleges, universities and hospitals. At the same time, he works to make sure pay rates, overtime laws, worker safety laws and standards on public works projects are adhered to.
Matthew joined the U.S. Army Reserves out of high school and served for nine years, and was inspired to learn the value of motivation and a strong work ethic. Meanwhile, he earned his Associates Degree from Southwestern Community College, and then his Bachelors’ Degree at California State University at Dominguez Hills. He was the first member of his family to earn a college degree.
A third-generation Laborer – following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather – Matthew got his start in the construction trades at UC San Diego. He excelled in in his field and took leadership roles in managing workers’ safety and overseeing payroll and project budgets. He is proud of the career he built through hard work – and is giving back to the community by making sure others overcome adversity, and have the opportunity to pursue good jobs with fair pay and benefits – and career advancement.
Matthew has stepped forward to help our community through the COVID-19 crisis. He serves on the Imperial Beach Mayor’s Task Force working with the IB Business Round Table, working to gather information from business community to make recommendations to reopen the local economy. And he is working with the City Council and State Legislators to give small business owners information on how to get assistance during the pandemic – so that they can keep on employing as many Imperial Beach residents as possible.
As a leader who stands up for workers and working families, Matthew Leyba-Gonzalez is a voice we need on the Imperial Beach City Council. We can count on him to work for safer neighborhoods and to improve opportunities for all the people of Imperial Beach, not just the powerful.