Working Washington and Fair Work Center joined forces in 2018–bringing together two organizations with storied histories full of victories for workers. Together, we fight for new rights for working people and make those rights real through community-based education and legal services, all while building a powerful movement of working people. Just this year, we passed health and safety protections for strippers in Washington State. We emerged as the national leader in organizing delivery workers in the gig economy, leading to Instacart, DoorDash, and Amazon changing their tipping policies. We are leading the effort in Washington to expand overtime protections for salaried workers, and providing support to several other states that have noticed our work. And we continue to organize domestic workers to advocate for change through Seattle’s groundbreaking domestic worker standards board. We bring together community education, know-your-rights training, and free legal services to ensure that low-wage workers understand their rights and how to enforce them. We focus on industries with high rates of workplace violations, where people of color, immigrants and refugees, women, LGBTQ people, and young people are more likely to work. In order to reach these workers, we provide our services in multiple languages and partner closely with other grassroots community-based organizations led by people of color and/or LGBTQ people. Our goal is to build the power of workers across Washington state and serve as a national model for new forms of worker organizing. We envision a society in which all workers have access to safe, dignified, and well-paying jobs.
We are seeking a creative, talented, and ambitious person to join a top-notch organizing program dedicated to substantially growing our movement and building power for workers. This role will primarily focus on organizing in the restaurant industry.
The successful candidate will demonstrate an understanding of the lived experience of low-wage work; interest in connecting one-on-one with workers; the ability to use online and field organizing tools and tactics; a creative, experimental approach to campaigns; and a strong ability to independently move projects forward.
Working Washington’s main office is located in Seattle, WA.
Job Description:
The member organization will use a combination of in-field outreach and digital tools to identify workers and community supporters, engage them in our work, and develop their capacity as leaders in order to build worker power and move our campaigns forward. In addition, this position will educate and train workers about their rights on the job and help direct them to resources to enforce their rights. This position is focused on organizing full-service restaurant workers, both front and back of house workers, and the particular policy priorities and enforcement challenges in that industry.
Principal duties and responsibilities include:
Identify new contacts and activate workers from our existing list, online outreach, and in-field outreach at restaurants
Engage workers, supporters, prospective supporters and the public at large through multiple modes and tools, including in-person and online meetings, phone calls, emails and texting
Gain deep understanding of workplace issues in the restaurant industry for both front and back of house workers
Provide information to new contacts and respond to incoming questions about workplace rights violations, requiring a familiarity with city, state, and federal labor laws, as well as how to direct their concerns to the proper resource
Help shape and lead worker organizing components of overall campaign strategy
Track data, maintain contact lists, and update information in our CRM and any other data needs as required for various communication platforms
Experiment with creative and forward-thinking tools & tactics to advance our campaigns, and be ready to adjust strategies as campaigns progress
Work directly with workers and community supporters as needed to fulfill campaign goals
Engage donors in relevant industries and encourage worker leaders to sign up with monthly contributions
Participate in preparation for and on day of rallies, marches, and other events
Work directly with workers and community supporters as needed to fulfill campaign goals, including door-knocking, phonebanking, and other political and campaign work
Assist with team or supervisors program duties while they are otherwise assigned or on time off.
Participate in internal operations, support other campaigns, and other duties as assigned
Qualifications
Proficiency in Spanish is required for this position due to the disproportionately high percentage of Spanish-speaking workers in this industry to ensure equity in engagement. A language differential is provided as compensation in addition to the base salary.
A commitment to building a 21st-Century workers movement, to risk-taking, and to the mission, vision, and values of Working Washington
Ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds/cultures in a professional and respectful manner
A commitment to pursuing racial equity and social justice both within our organization and in campaigns
Ability to work independently as well as on a team - problem solving within all work styles
Ability to move workers towards campaign goals, both on a large scale and one-to-one, and an eagerness to engage with low-wage workers across the state and amplify their voices
Strong personal planning, motivation, and time management skills
The ability to exercise discretion and independent judgment are considered key components to achieving performance standards
Adaptability to frequently changing circumstances, flexibility and dependability in getting projects finalized
Initiative to complete the job, contribute to the organization and think proactively and strategically about the organization
Willingness to work long and irregular hours when campaign needs require it, including some evenings and weekends
Not required, but a plus:
Experience working in food service or other low-wage work
Some amount of organizing experience
This position is included in the Staff Union Bargaining Unit (classified in the Program or Senior Program schedule) and is a full-time, salaried, overtime-exempt position
Salary Range: Staff union pay scale, with starting pay between $48,843 and $53,847, based on experience, and significant annual step increases each year. Generous benefits package, including fully-paid family health care, employer matched 401k, vacation and sick leave, and ORCA card.
Location: Based out of Working Washington and Fair Work Center HQ (116 Warren Ave N Ste A, Seattle, WA 98119), and substantial field work and travel is required. We have flexible scheduling practices, including the ability to work from home occasionally.
Please send a resume and cover letter to jobs@workingwa.org. In your cover letter, let us know why you’re interested in organizing on this campaign, what skills you have that you believe will make you a good organizer, and how those skills have shown up in your work in the past. Please feel free to share any experience you have with food service or other low-wage work!
Applications will be considered as they arrive. Please submit application by Dec. 27 for earliest consideration.
Working Washington is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We bring an equity lens to hiring and strongly encourage people of color, immigrants, women, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, trans, and gender non-conforming people to apply. We seek candidates whose lived experiences reflect the lived experiences of the workers organizing with our campaigns.