WORKER POWER
Is Built on Four Pillars
1. Union Democracy
Workers controlling our own unions.
2. Commitment to Organizing
Big resources for organizing non-union workers.
3. Coordinated Strike Threats
Meeting giant corporations with coordinated power.
4. Strike Readiness
Robust strike pay, no obstacles to striking.
We Insist
We insist on democratic unions of, by and for workers. Workers must have stronger unions that we control and that work for us.
We insist on the right of workers to directly vote for our leaders. We insist on no secret deals with employers. We insist on coordinated bargaining for more power against the concentrated corporate employers we now face. We insist on a truly democratic right to strike and receive adequate strike benefits. We insist on true organizing unions that prioritize bringing in new workers.
The pathway is clear: build a more democratic labor movement. We cherish our unions, and we will fight to improve and democratize them. Read more in the Essential Workers’ Bill of Rights.
Our Organizing
Essential Workers for Democracy is a grassroots movement to reform and revitalize the labor movement for essential workers. We organize across the U.S. and Canada with rank and file members of unions representing grocery workers, meatpackers, retail workers, and more. EW4D staff travel from coast to coast to meet with members at the local level, hold workshops and support organizing efforts to transform local unions from the bottom up. Contact us to bring a meeting or workshop to your area!
Our movement for change takes place at three levels: the shop floor, the union local, and the international union.
Shop floor organizing. EW4D helps organize workers to understand and enforce their union contracts. We work to empower shop stewards and equip them with the tools they need to stand up for themselves and their coworkers. We also work to develop new stewards and create networks of shopfloor activists that put the “you” in union. Read more about our organizing on the shopfloor in our quarterly newsletter, Essential Voice.
Local union organizing. EW4D is working to grow a new generation of leaders from the rank and file. Through our in-person and online workshops, we provide union education supporting more democratic, transparent, and powerful unions. From information on finding your local union bylaws to financial transparency, EW4D helps educate and organize members at the local level. See more of our organizing and educational work here.
International union revitalization and reform. Our vision for the labor movement involves transformational change at the top to empower rank and file activity at the grassroots. That’s why we’re supporting a historic lawsuit against the UFCW International Union for violating the LMRDA and democratic rights of 1.3 million union members through an unfair system of delegate apportionment. Read more about our lawsuit here. We’ve also put together informational resources for greater transparency at the international level, including our national grocery contract expiration tracker and our 2023 UFCW Convention Scorecard.