Workplace Justice Campaign Organizer

Make the Road New York (MRNY) builds the power of immigrant and working-class communities to achieve dignity and justice through organizing, policy innovation, transformative education, and survival services. Make the Road New York operates community centers in Bushwick, Brooklyn; Jackson Heights, Queens; Port Richmond, Staten Island; Brentwood, Long Island and White Plains, Westchester County. With a membership of 27,000, MRNY tackles the critical issues facing our communities, including Workplace Justice, tenants’ rights, immigrant rights and civil rights, TGNCIQ justice, public education, health care access, and immigration reform. (TGNCIQ = transgender, gender non-conforming, intersex and queer). MRNY is a newly unionized workplace, currently negotiating its first Collective Bargaining Agreement.

MRNY is a multi-service organization. Our member-led organizing committees - which work on the issues named above - implement strategies to combat shared problems, and develop leadership and the capacity for civic participation. We also provide an array of high-quality bilingual services: We offer English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Spanish-language literacy, computer literacy, citizenship preparation, and in-school and after-school youth programs. We have a robust legal program that offers direct representation across a spectrum of practice areas, including employment law, immigration law, housing and benefits, and TGNCIQ civil rights; we also take on impact litigation as a strategy for achieving broad change. Our health program offers facilitated enrollment into health insurance programs and SNAP benefits, a community health worker home visit program, nutrition education and emergency food pantries, health care navigation, and more."

Current Opening:

The Workplace Justice Campaign Organizer will join a dynamic team at Make the Road New York composed of community organizers, policy experts, labor attorneys and more with the goal of driving powerful economic and worker Justice Campaigns at the city and state level.

This role will meaningfully engage with impacted community members, advocacy organizations, stakeholders and decision makers with the aim of building people power and passing bold, innovative labor policy that has a direct impact on the livelihoods of the communities we fight with and for.

This is a full- time, temporary position through December 15th of 2024, with the possibility of extension dependent on funding. The Workplace Justice Campaign Organizer will be dedicated to building the power of low-wage workers across New York City and New York State and will help drive the work of a city and statewide coalition focused on two pieces of legislation - the Unemployment Bridge Program and the Secure Jobs Act. Campaign responsibilities will be primarily divided but not exclusive to the legislative cycles of city and state. MRNY staff are currently working both remotely and in-person, with a required minimum of 2 days in their designated home office. This policy is subject to change after March 2024. This position will be based at our Queens office, with flexibility to work out of additional office locations.

Key Responsibilities but not limited to:

Coalition building and Base Engagement

• Facilitate regular meetings with groups including agenda planning, strategy development, curriculum development and task management for the Unemployment Bridge Program and the Secure Jobs Act.
• Educate base groups and members about policy and other campaign topics by supporting
• member meetings in coordination for both the Unemployment Bridge Program and the Secure Jobs Act.
• Recruit and retain base groups in campaigns through 1:1’s and meaningful engagement
• Assist with supporting the development and execution of FEW’s worker’s committee and popular education program

Mobilization & Advocacy

• With support of the MRNYteam, plan on programming, legislative lobby days, direct actions and mobilizations with impacted community members and base groups across the city and state in line with campaign plan priorities
• Develop toolkits and popular education resources for coalition groups and MRNY committees to use for campaign engagement
• Support other MRNY Workplace Justice Team priorities as needed.
• Coordination with FEW steering and anchor organizations on event logistics for direct actions geared towards legislators and the public
• Liaise with City and Statewide agencies to further the needs of the campaign as necessary
• Support the development and implementation of DALE related work across internal and external spaces

Policy

• Support FEW Coalition Manager and Lead Organizer in liaising with city and statewide agencies to advocate for program / policy improvement, communicate member concerns, etc.
• Engage with the FEW coalition policy committee to communicate and educate base groups
• Collaborate with the Workplace Justice Team and attorneys on policy design, policy memos, fact sheets and more.

Administrative

• Provide communications support on digital platforms (i.e. Twitter, Instagram, etc.)
• Submit Salesforce records for coalition events for coalition reporting purposes
• Translate general non-formal materials (emails, general documents, etc.)
• Update program budget as needed
• Additional responsibilities will be discussed as needed
• Support and participate in the larger Organizing Department activities as needed
• Able to work some evenings and weekends as required

Requirements:

• Eligible to work in the US
• Required to be fully vaccinated with and FDA approved COVID-19 vaccine prior first day of employment
• Demonstrated commitment to social justice and employment justice in particular
• At least five years of experience in community organizing and/or union organizing
• A deep commitment to growing democratic base-building organizations and to building worker power in the US Economy;
• The proven ability to move workers or community leaders and activists through fear and develop their leadership;
• Proven ability to lead winning campaigns;
• Experience supporting coalition work and excellent ability to build relationships of trust with long-term allies;
• Strong interpersonal and communications skills with an emphasis on navigating coalition dynamics, supporting member / worker leadership, and supervising staff;
• The ability to work and speak in both Spanish and English;
• The ability to lead and support others’ leadership within a multi-racial organization that has made concrete commitments to elevating the leadership of frontline communities at all levels of organizational leadership;
• A hunger to learn and experiment as part of a supportive team.

Job Competencies:

• Self-starter with strong organizational skills and strong attention to detail
• Be highly professional and team oriented with a passion for excellence and eagerness to help the department meet our goals.
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize, and complete assignments under strict deadlines with minimal supervision in a fast paced environment.
• Ability to work under pressure required.
• Have a working knowledge of spreadsheets, Microsoft Office suite, and using a database (ideally Salesforce) to run reports.
• Flexible work schedule, some evenings or weekends required
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• High level of accountability and initiative; needs to be a self-starter and eager to do team work to support the organization as a whole

Salary and Benefits:

Starting salary is based on a scale set by a democratically-elected personnel committee and will depend on factors such as experience and education. MRNY offers an excellent benefit package including health insurance, 401K, and generous paid vacation, sick, personal days. The salary range for this position is from $58,174 to $68,174.

How to Apply:

Please attach your resume and cover letter and submit all documents to the Make the Road New York career center.

Make the Road believes that social change is best achieved through grassroots community-based organizing that flows directly from and engages the community demanding the change. As a membership-based organization, we are committed to providing equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, criminal history, or Veteran status. We strongly encourage those from historically excluded groups to apply.