Workers United Upstate New York & Vermont

Organizing Fellowship

Focused in Upstate New York and Vermont

 

Help us build the labor movement!

About Workers United Upstate New York
Home to Starbucks Workers United, Workers United Upstate New York was founded by radical immigrant garment workers. We remain committed to industrial unionism and to the class struggle. We believe that organizing a union is not just about winning higher wages and benefits. It’s about changing power dynamics and building solidarity. When you organize, you’re creating something bigger than yourself. You’re becoming part of a dynamic, transformative and radical force for justice – the Labor Movement.

We represent workers across many industries – coffee shops and casinos, laundries and warehouses, garment factories and dining halls, manufacturing plants and hotels. In 2019, we helped baristas at Spot Coffee organize – making them the largest restaurant and coffee shop union in the country at the time. As part of a larger project to organize the entire restaurant and coffee industry in Upstate New York, we launched a campaign in the summer of 2021 to organize Starbucks workers, creating Starbucks Workers United. The Starbucks Workers United program would not have started without graduates of this Fellowship program. We are an organizing union, committed to building power for workers and fighting exploitation.

The Organizing Fellowship
Workers United Upstate is offering an Organizing Fellowship, a program designed to offer training and experience to anyone interested in becoming part of the labor movement.

The program begins with a classroom component that goes over history, theory, and tactics. New organizers are then placed in the field on active organizing campaigns where they can develop their skills and get a real understanding of organizing work. The program is run by experienced organizers who emphasize what approaches are truly helping workers win organizing drives today.

We believe that the best way to help workers – and the best way to learn union organizing – is through organizing on the ground and building strong worker committees. When you join the Organizing Fellowship, your commitment to us is to help build the movement in upstate New York. Our commitment to you is to help train you as an organizer.

To Apply
Please email organizeupstate@gmail.com:

• Include your name, email, and phone number
• Please attach a résumé
• Answer these questions:
  • Tell us something about yourself!
  • Why are you interested in becoming an Organizing Fellow?
  • What role do you see the labor movement playing in society?

For more information, visit: workersunitedupstate.org.