Coworker.org
Credit: Coworker.org
| Giver: | Business |
|---|---|
| Receiver: | Individual or unstructured/informal group |
| Gift: | Other |
| Approach: | - |
| Issues: | 10. Reduced Inequalities, 3. Good Health and Well-Being, 5. Gender Equality, 8. Decent Work and Economic Growth |
Coworker.org is an online organizing platform dedicated to helping workers take collective action to negotiate for higher wages, paid sick leave, improved working conditions and other benefits. Designed to support employees outside the traditional labor movement, the platform offers a range of organizing tools, employment data and other resources to help non-unionized workers achieve meaningful gains in the workplace. By inviting employees to focus on issues important to their specific situations, the platform enables them to assume a direct role in shaping their work lives for the better. Describing itself as a “laboratory for workers to experiment with power-building strategies and win meaningful changes in the 21st century economy” (<https://home.coworker.org/about-us/>), Coworker.org harnesses the power of digital organizing to promote solidarity and facilitate mutual aid within the labor rights movement.
Coworker.org was first launched in 2013 by Michelle Miller and Jess Kutch. Veterans of the Service Employee International Union (SEIU), Miller and Kutch developed the platform to support the rising number of people stuck in low-paying jobs, many of whom were ineligible for standard employment benefits and protections.
One of the organization’s first major collective actions came in 2014, when the Tupelo Honey Café – a restaurant chain based in North Carolina – moved to cut pre-tip wages for support staff by more than USD 3 per hour. Coworker.org helped workers at the restaurant circulate a petition protesting the pay cut. Pressure from the online campaign, which drew more than 1,200 signatures, led the chain to rescind the new policy at three restaurants, before eventually implementing a total minimum wage of USD 11 per hour (including base pay and tips) for all employees. Since its inception, Corworker.org has also played a key role in helping employees advocate for paid parental leave, greater involvement in scheduling decisions and racial and gender equality in the workplace.
Coworker.org gained national recognition in October 2015, when it staged a live digital Town Hall at the White House. Focused on the “Future of the Worker Voice” and co-moderated by Miller and President Barack Obama (1961-), the event brought wider attention to their solidarity movement.
In addition to supporting collective action efforts, Coworker.org also oversees the Coworker Solidarity Fund (CSF), a donation-based pool that provides financial and legal backing to workers confronting employer opposition to organizing efforts. First launched in 2020, the CSF has provided vital relief funds to employees at Netflix, Apple and other major tech firms. In 2022, CSF donations helped feed Amazon workers in Staten Island during their successful campaign to unionize.
Egalitarian and collaborative, Coworker.org embodies an approach to generosity rooted in collective action. By providing an online space where workers from around the world can share information, organize petitions and discuss employment concerns, the platform is revitalizing the labor movement for the digital age – while mobilizing a new generation of activists to assume greater control over shaping their futures.
Contributor: Stephen Meyer
| Source type | Full citation | Link (DOI or URL) |
|---|---|---|
| Publication |
Beck, Allison. “The Case for Dialogue and Dispute Resolution in the Future@Work.” Perspectives on Work 22 (2018): 14-19. |
https://www.jstor.org/stable/26621152 |
| Publication |
Compa, Lance. “Careful What You Wish For: A Critical Appraisal of Proposals to Rebuild the Labor Movement.” New Labor Forum 24, no. 3 (Fall 2015): 11-16. |
https://www.jstor.org/stable/24718617 |
| Publication |
Haugen, JoAnna. “The Solidarity Fund Is Helping Labor Organizers Take on Big Tech.” Shareable, November 3, 2021. |
https://www.shareable.net/labor-organizing-solidarity-fund/ |
| Publication |
Naidu, Suresh. “Is There Any Future for a US Labor Movement?” Journal of Economic Perspectives 36, no. 4 (Fall 2022): 3-28. |
https://www.jstor.org/stable/27171128 |
| Publication |
Negrón, Wilneida. Little Tech Is Coming for Workers: A Framework for Reclaiming and Building Worker Power. Coworker.org, 2021. |
https://home.coworker.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Little-Tech-Is-Coming-for-Workers.pdf |
| Publication |
Sipp, Kati. “The Internet Versus the Labor Movement: Why Unions Are Latecomers to Digital Organizing.” New Labor Forum 25, no. 2 (Spring 2016): 88-92. |
https://www.jstor.org/stable/26419989 |