This story is part of Neon Tommy's series, Wage in L.A., which explores how Angelenos survive on the state's minimum wage of $8 an hour, and how they feel about their jobs.

(May Day marchers/Creative Commons, Rae Allen)

Los Angeles residents, undocumented workers and human rights groups joined together today to celebrate International Worker’s Day andmarch through neighborhoods demanding better workers’ wages.

The march will start under the Chinatown Gateway, wind around the city and end at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

Priscilla Cheng is the Communications Office for the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. She said the L.A. Labor Movement would be represented in the march by diverse cross sections of workers.

“Workers and community members are demanding immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship, deportation relief and dignity and respect for all workers,” she said.

According to the LACFL’s research, 46 percent of Los Angeles workers live at or below the poverty line. Many of these workers are undocumented, and are not being paid a “living wage.” Through these May Day demonstrations, participants hope that Congress will vote on more comprehensive reform plans that rely less often on deportation. According to the Human Rights Campaign, there are 11 million undocumented immigrants across the country, and most do not have steady or middle-income jobs.

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Currently, California’s minimum wage is $8 an hour. This will increase by one dollar in July and is planned to hit $10 by 2016, but even with this increase many workers won’t be able to themselves and their families correctly, with proper meals, clothing and living conditions.

Immigration reform groups are not the only participants in today’s march. The Human Rights Campaign has joined this movement for the first time. Hyacinth Alvaran is the Diversity and Inclusion Director for the Human Rights Campaign, she says that worker’s compensation issues parallel the same types of challenges the LGBT community faces, and that Los Angeles and California still have a long way to go before workers and minority groups can live equally.

“Economic justice is never over. It’s closely tied to the larger issue of immigration reform. Labor issues and LGBT issues are tied together,” Alvaran said.

This story is part of Neon Tommy's series, Wage in L.A., which explores how Angelenos survive on the state's minimum wage of $8 an hour, and how they feel about their jobs.