Building a New Labor Movement

Excluded Worker Congress July, 2011

 Transform the Labor

VISION

Movement to include historically marginalized groups of workers

Create a new framework,

Actively build shared interest Strengthen labor protections

and create a basic safety net for excluded workers.

rooted in human rights, for collective bargaining and the right to organize in the United States.

among working people across workforces, communities and generations.

Help build a global labor

movement that connects the power of organized workers around the world and innovated strategies for collective bargaining across borders and industries.

Current landscape


NLRA excludes many workers from the right to organize
ILO (international labor organization) focused on formal sector employment & traditional industrial relations bargaining
Global migration is at an all time high
Global economic crisis

Reactionary response that attacks workers

Workfare spreading to other countries
Opportunities within the Obama administration
Worker center organizing has grown exponentially in last 20 years
Growth of national worker alliances

 Domestic worker Bill of

Rights in New York

Worker Victories

Ban the Box campaign

successful in 5 states

Tomato pickers win ILO convention on

domestic work
legislation

industry wide wage increase

Taxi workers ghting Won agreements for

against back room deals

Development of federal Establish worker experts

through participatory research and reports

thousands of workers with benets, wages, job security

restaurants

Open Worker owned Won transitional jobs as an

alternative to workfare

Impact of Organizing Excluded Workers

hundreds of thousands
day laborers
guest workers
more than
1.5 million
farmworkers
2 million
domestic
workers
millions of public employees

Over 5 million
tipped workers

Build local and regional organizations

Support emerging alliances

Build relationships between alliances

Developed by Movement Strategy Center 2011

BEFORE: Uncoordinated & Unaligned

day labor ers

Southern right to work stat es

formerly incarcera ted

workfare workers
Framework Developed by Movement Strategy Center 2011

restaurant workers

NOW: Organized Sectors

day laborers

CVH

formerly incarcerated

taxi drivers

Link Sectors & Align Leaders

Domestic

farmwork ers

workfare

EWC

Tipped

IDENTIFY COMMON STRUGGLES & PRIORITIES,

MOVING A SHARED FRAMEWORK AND VISION FOR CHANGE

guest workers

Connect to the International Labor Movement

migrant

domestic

transportation

Developed by Movement Strategy Center 2011

Developed by Movement Strategy Center 2011

Developed by Movement Strategy Center 2011

 June 2010 USSF

September 2010 DC leadership meeting & key decisions
December 2010- EWC Report released
Key meetings with AFL-CIO, SEIU, and DOL
January 2011 Funder Webinar
February DOL listening sessions start
March 2011- Hired staff
May 2011 International Conference on the Human Right
to Organize & 2nd DOL session

EWC timeline

June 2011 Power Bill re-introduced

Main Priorities:

POWER Campaign
Department of Labor
(ongoing relations)
Minimum Wage Campaign
(still developing)

POWER campaign

Legislation re-introduced
Developing larger leadership committee
Expanding campaign to be about the Right to
Organize

Internal work 6 months

Member assessment and mapping (to coincide Member education materials
International labor mapping and research
Winter Leadership Meetings Dec 2011
Organizational development plan

1)Membership levels
2)Recruitment plan
3)Decision making process

with IAD process)

IAD Feedback/discussion

- Ideas for congress membership how to account - Role of EWC in capacity building versus national - Development of Power campaign
- Other ideas or questions

campaign driven work
for national alliances, local organizations, intermediaries and coalitions with mixed membership