The Economic Justice Coalition (EJC) is a non-profit, grassroots organization whose mission is to educate, advocate, and organize for quality jobs with living wages and benefits. In accordance with this mission, we are seeking funding to reinvigorate EJC’s Worker Center in Athens, GA.
We are seeking to hire three full-time and two part-time staff members for the Worker’s Center, and invest in educational and outreach efforts for Athens workers.
Across the country, worker centers are becoming more common as a community response to issues such as poverty and workplace inequities. As community-based hubs for worker empowerment, worker centers are powerful sites for workers to organize, access resources and support networks, and build community to advance economic justice.
Workers in Athens — particularly those from historically marginalized communities (i.e., Black, Latinx and Immigrant communities) — are often denied the economic security necessary to live healthy and sustainable lives. Recent local resolutions passed in support of Black Lives Matter and in support of Immigrant people highlight Athens-Clarke County Government’s responsibility for and commitment to uplifting these communities.
With the Worker Center, we will support and build the capacity of low-wage workers in Athens through education, organizing, leadership development, and advocacy. The center and its staff will assist workers in their organizing for equitable wages and better working conditions throughout Athens by also working in partnership with local unions, lawyers, and area organizations.
Additionally, the Worker Center will enable working families to recover from the pandemic financially by connecting workers with resources and advocacy strategies while also advocating for policies and programs that advance labor justice and economic security. By working to transform the underlying conditions that have caused low wage workers in Athens to struggle, we can nurture a community that is more resilient to the impacts of future financial and social burdens.
