Organizing Workers

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How can arts be a form of resistance and organizing?
Art can take many forms and mediums—painting, drawing, music, theater, dance, poetry, and etc.—and can be used as an effective means for movements to raise awareness, build communities, and inspire social change. Utilizing art and culture creates a space for learning about the shared challenges between different communities while recognizing and celebrating our differences. Art can not only impact a wide public audience but also challenge narratives that obscure our fight for broader racial, economic, and social justice.

What is a worker center?
The negative effects of climate change disproportionally affect all working people. Workers and environmentalists must be engaged together to address the deepening income inequality. Long-term sustainability must address environmental protection; economic fairness, including income inequality and jobs; and social justice.

Why do we need alternative forms of organizing?
Because worker centers are not unions, they are not subject to regulations imposed by the National Labor Relations Board. Worker centers provide another way for workers to join the movement for economic, racial, and social justice. With the threat of national right-to-work, alternative forms of organizing of working people is more crucial than ever.

What is the “gig economy” or “shared economy”? What is the implication of the shared economy on workers and people of color?
The gig economy, also known as the shared economy, is an internet based peer-to-peer economic model, where individuals rent out their assets or provide services to others. Examples include ride-sharing services, such as Uber and Lyft, which connects drivers with passengers, and Airbnb, which allows people to rent their homes to others. On the worker side, many employees of these companies are classified as “independent contractors” and thus not entitled to the benefits and protections of state and federal labor laws. These companies also directly compete with unionized businesses, such as taxi drives and hotel workers. On the consumer side, there have been many cases where people of color customers face discrimination by these contractors since such companies operate in a legal gray zone, where it is not entirely bound to offer equal access.