Worker Rights and Labor Organizing
Over the last 50 years, union membership in America has dropped precipitously as manufacturers relocated overseas and as employers have stepped up resistance to worker organizing. The results of these changes have been disastrous both economically and politically, with the average American facing stagnant wages and government policy designed by and for the wealthy. The good news is that a range of organizations are working to reverse this trend, with growing success. Below, we explain why the labor movement must be at the center of any successful progressive project, the best ways to support that movement, and advice for donors getting started.
Why Donating for Worker Rights and Labor Organizing is Important
American workers want and deserve higher wages, better benefits and more stability in their jobs. Helping workers organize and empower themselves to achieve these goals is a way to increase living standards and reduce inequality. In addition, getting people to come together and see themselves as fighting for a common struggle can cut through barriers like race and gender that are often weaponized to divide Americans. Moreover, labor organizations can be incredibly effective political actors in organizing voters and pressuring political leaders to take action. In recent years, these organizations have won major gains on issues like raising the minimum wage and guaranteeing paid sick leave. With greater donor support, they can build on this forward progress.
Where to Donate for Worker Rights and Labor Organizing
Organizations helping workers organize at the grassroots. The main dilemma faced by American workers is a lack of power, and the most effective way for workers to gain power is by organizing. While unions are leaders in this work, financing their efforts through membership dues, nonprofit organizations play an increasingly prominent role in what’s been called the “new labor movement.” This shift has created more opportunities for donors to back worker organizing. Key national groups that focus on labor organizing include the National Domestic Workers Alliance, National Day Laborer Organizing Network, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, Working America and the Jobs With Justice Education Fund. Donors can also directly support new, growing unions like the Amazon Labor Union and the Solidarity Fund for Starbucks Workers. (It should be noted that foundations cannot legally give directly to unions, while individual donations to unions, like (c)(4)s, are not tax deductible.)
Campaigns and groups pushing for pro-worker policies at the state and local levels. In recent years, a number of cities and states have advanced exciting new laws to benefit workers. This includes California, where a united Democratic legislature and governor have passed legislation laying the groundwork for sectoral bargaining, as well as more conservative states like Arkansas, where voters approved a minimum wage increase via ballot initiative in 2018. One of the best-known national groups in this arena is One Fair Wage, which leads campaigns at the state and local levels to increase wages. Another effective national organization focused on change at state and local levels is the Fairness Project, which has helped win ballot measures to raise wages, enact paid family leave, expand Medicaid and more.
Organizations focused on pro-worker policy research and advocacy. In addition to supporting organizing to empower workers, donors can back advocacy and public policy research on issues like wages, collective bargaining rights and more. Leaders in such work include the Economic Policy Institute, Center for Economic and Policy Research and National Employment Law Project (NELP). Likewise, a strong labor movement will inevitably be forced to deal with a federal court system that has become increasingly hostile to workers in the last several decades. Organizations like Demand Justice and People’s Parity Project advocate for a more worker-centric view of the law, and among other work, push for the appointment of more progressive, pro-labor judges.
For Donors Getting Started
Learn more about the labor movement. Donors can keep up with news and ideas surrounding unions and workers’ rights by reading labor-focused media like More Perfect Union and Labor Notes. They can also check out Blue Tent’s coverage of the subject, or check out coverage of the new labor movement on our sister site, Inside Philanthropy.
Connect and collaborate. For those interested in getting involved right away, it’s often helpful to look into collaboratives and funder tables, which distribute donor money to groups they have researched independently and help funders navigate giving options. Examples include The LIFT Fund, which focuses on helping workers organize, particularly in the South, through their Southern Workers Opportunity Fund; ReWork the Bay, a funders table focused on worker empowerment in the Bay Area; and Economic Opportunity Funders, a network of hundreds of funders focused on economic equity and opportunity at the local, state and national levels.
Make sure you understand the different types of nonprofits and political groups and what that means for your giving. The examples we cited above include different types of organizations, from standard 501(c)(3)s to the more politically minded (c)(4)s, as well as the potential for PACs, 527s and political campaigns. Donors should read up on the different limits and tax incentives when it comes to giving to these groups, especially when looking to give through a foundation. Many of these groups also maintain multiple related but separate organizations operating under similar names but with different legal structures, so donors should also always double-check that they’re giving to the group they intended to support.