Interview with Ai-jen Poo, Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance
Ai-Jen Poo has been organizing with domestic workers for over 15 years, helping in New York to win some of the first statewide labor protections for occupations often exempt from labor laws, and expanding this campaign to a nationwide vision for a strong caregiving workforce and infrastructure for elder care. In 2014 she became a MacArthur Fellow, but this was hardly her first award.
Winning a Land Bank We Can Trust
Lessons from Philadelphia's Campaign to Take Back Vacant Land
Affordable, But for Whom?
How a box of felt pieces helps organizers help New York communities advocate for their real affordable housing needs
Cross-Community Collaboration on NYC’s Municipal ID Program
Lack of identification hurts many different groups in different ways—from the homeless to immigrants, and they all need to be considered in the fight for an alternative.
Social Innovation and Civic Participation
We have some insight from Sonal Shah, the head of the new White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, who is advocating...
Review of The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime & Resistance in the Heart Of San Francisco
I learned about the history of the Tenderloin, San Francisco’s maligned neighborhood, through walks in it with my Great Uncle, Milton Hendrick, and listening...
Don’t Call It a Comeback for Neighborhood Schools
In the face of widespread school choice, some D.C. residents are advocating for an equitable system of neighborhood schools. But what's the chance that will become a reality?
“The Fight Continues.”
Michael De Los Santos, community organizer and outreach and project coordinator with the Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina talks about working within communities...
6 Reasons to Be Wary of Public-Private Partnerships
During his recent visit to Miami, President Obama praised Public Private Partnerships (“P3s”) and lifted up the idea of a...
U.S. Catholic Funders: Resist Calls to Abandon Social Justice
In the last few years community organizers have learned it's in their self-interest to become astute Vatican watchers. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD)...
Planned Shrinkage by Thirst?
Even the much beleagured CEO of Nestle, who has been accused of trying to privatize the water resources of poor communities...
At Last, Apprenticeships Will Be for All People
Not surprisingly, last Friday's headlines focused on the announcement that the Obama administration had rejected the proposal to build...
Our Denial and Inaction On the Issue of Lead
How far does the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) denial about leaded drinking water go? This week, I was having...
On Beyond Income: Asset Building and Union Organizing Go Together
I wrote earlier this week about how the current increase in labor organizing among service workers calls for a conscious choice by other nonprofits who work with low-income households to offer our solidarity to those campaigns. Beyond the fact of supporting workers in their struggle for self-determination, there are some other opportunities for cross-pollination there. […]
Organizers: There’s No Shortcut to Success
Overcoming the ideology of individualism and corporate power is achieved not through framing or advocacy but through the experience of collective struggle. A review of No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age by Jane McAlevey.
Has the Fight Gone Out of Organizing?
After a brief, shining moment following the 2008 Republican National Convention, when it seemed community organizers would rule the country, they are now back on the defensive.
Obama’s Nomination: Just in Time For Labor Day
Bill Clinton stepped up the other night and did what he needed to do if the Dems want to win this election: he threw...
After the Politicking, Let’s Remember ACORN’s Vital Work
ACORN has been falsely charged in the news media, by politicians, and even by some supporters. This was the point driven home by Wade...
We Can Save Homeownership
It’s no secret: homeownership in America is in trouble. If this crucial part of the American Dream is worth saving—and...
Rural Housing Budget Disappointing, But Not Surprising
Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, the Obama administration’s rural housing budget continues trends that were evident in the last several...