CIWO Events

Our current capitalist system is jeopardizing the future of the planet. How can we create the coalitions capable of moving us towards an ecofriendly solidarity society? In this talk, we will explore the priorities of the powerful, the mistaken theories that justify their hegemony, and the alternative world views that are firing the imagination and efforts of feminists and other activists to bring about transformative change.

Members of the Build the Bench Advisory Committee and CIWO gathered on Friday, September 9, 2022 in Washington, DC to strategize the future of Build the Bench.

From May 22nd – May 24th, 2022, past and current Political Directors and labor activists gathered at Rutgers University. CIWO partnered with the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at the Rutgers University Eagleton Institute. Leaders from the following worker justice organizations were in attendance: SEIU 503, United Working Families, Chicago Teachers Union, Washington State Labor Council, The Workers Institute at Cornell University, SEIU 2015, SEIU International, Detroit Action, the Institute for Policy Studies, the NYC Central Labor Council, and AFSCME.

During this 3-day retreat style gathering, leaders engaged in the following:

· “Pathways to Power” discussion featuring past political directors and labor activists who are in elected/selected leadership roles in unions, academia, and municipalities:

o April Sims, Secretary-Treasurer Washington State Labor Council;

o Stacy Davis-Gates, President Elect of the Chicago Teacher’s Union;

o Patricia Campos-Medina, Executive Director of the Workers Institute at Cornell University;

o Dahlia Vertreese, Mayor of Hillside NJ and Labor Liaison with IUOE.

· Interactive exercises led by Dr. Sheri Davis-Faulkner, CIWO Associate Director (WILL Empower Co-Director), as well as Kimberly Peeler-Allen, CAWP Visiting Practitioner (Higher Heights Co-Founder).

· Wellness and community building practices were incorporated throughout the convening.

On May 19-20, 2022, participants from over 20 organizations came together virtually for our eighth annual Build the Bench Convening. This was our third time convening virtually, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Convening on Zoom has its challenges, but Build the Bench participants give it their all whenever they are together, and this event was no exception. Participants gathered from 12-5:30pm EST on both days, which involved 4 main sessions and a cocktail/mocktail hour after the first day to just spend time talking and getting to know each other better (special thanks to Mackenzie Baris of Jobs with Justice  and Aisha Satterwhite of Co-worker for hosting spaces during this time). This year’s convening welcomed many new faces into our ever-growing community; participants enthusiastically built new connections and strengthened their existing relationships. 

The inaugural WILL Empower Womxn's Labor Leadership Symposium will be held virtually on September 30 and October 1, and will amplify the groundbreaking work that womxn leaders in the WILL Empower network and across worker justice movements are engaged in. Participants will have the opportunity to connect with others around key questions that we are all grappling with in this moment, and discuss important topics such as transformational leadership; leading in complex times; innovative organizing strategies, and much more! 

WILL Empower's Young Womxn's Labor Leadership group invites young people interested in the labor movement and progressive organizing to a conversation with labor leader, Chanda Parmar-Bonta of the United Workers Union in Perth. This event will take place on Tuesday, July 20th at 7pm EDT online and is free and open to new and existing members of the WILL Empower network.

How can we build sustained and mutually respectful partnerships between unions, community organizations, and school families? Join this discussion on building relationships between educators and community and fighting for social justice in education.

Since its original publication in 1972, no book has done as much as Jeremy Brecher’s Strike! to bring U.S. labor history to a wide audience. Strike! tells the dramatic story of repeated, massive, and sometimes violent revolts by ordinary working people in America. Told from the point of view of rank-and-file workers Involved in nationwide general strikes, the seizure of vast industrial establishments, and nonviolent direct action on a massive scale, Strike! reveals a dimension of American history rarely found in the usual high school or college history course. Fifty years later, the book still captures the imagintaions of students, workers, and organizers alike, who continue to struggle for progressive social change to improve the lives of working people.

Join us for a book talk with Dr. Danielle T. Phillips Cunningham, author of Putting Their Hands on Race: Irish Immigrant and Southern Black Domestic Workers, winner of the 2020 Sarah A. Whaley Book Prize from the National Women's Studies Association.

Join us for a panel drawing on the newly published, Strike for the Common Good: Fighting for the Future of Public Education, edited by Rebecca Kolins Givan and Amy Schrager Lang. This panel will present diverse perspectives on recent teachers’ strikes, where teachers struck for the schools their students need and deserve.