Harlem Organization Helped Change the Face of Construction

The Industrial Commons (TIC) strives to create an inclusive economy based on community between employee-owned social enterprises and industrial cooperatives, creating a more democratized, worker-centric environment. Since 2015, TIC has launched five cooperative businesses, employing more than 100 workers, and is working to grow the number of businesses to 75 by 2025.

Meatpacking workers protested Covid-19 safety concerns and a coalition of advocacy groups filed a civil rights complaint with the government accusing Tyson and JBS USA of racial discrimination during the pandemic because the safety issues disproportionately impact line workers, who are largely people of color. Nevada’s Culinary Union also sued Las Vegas Strip casinos for unsafe working conditions. Two casinos have been dropped from the suit after deciding to negotiate privately with the union and Tyson has since instituted some safety measures, but broader impacts of the complaints remain to be seen.

As large cracks appeared in the walls of Rana Plaza, workers’ safety concerns were ignored until the building collapsed, killing 1,134 and injuring many more. New regulations and organizations are improving worker safety in Bangladesh, but factories are picking up the bill more than retailers and customers. This puts increased production pressure on workers, who also cite low wages and gender disparities in leadership positions as continuing problems.

As a relatively new field, digital media companies were without the “building blocks” that formed the infrastructure of traditional media companies. Unionizing efforts at digital media companies are an effort to put this infrastructure in place and they touch upon issues of pay and editorial independence.

With childcare shortages keeping women out of the workforce, the Ashland County Community Foundation's Women's Fund launched a four-year collaborative initiative that raised $4.8 million to create Foundations Community Childcare from the ground up, offering a place to address the gaps in childcare with extended hours, making care more accessible. Since opening in June 2024, Foundations has enrolled 118 students at 83% capacity and expanded from four rooms to seven due to demand, and has even inspired similar centers in other areas.

Diverse Erie is an ambitious DEI initiative aimed at funding minority-owned businesses and revitalizing marginalized neighborhoods as the Trump administration cuts federal funding. Funded partly by federal pandemic relief dollars, the program has provided critical grants and training for dozens of businesses, helping entrepreneurs expand and sustain their businesses.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) formed the first worker-driven social responsibility program in 1993, and since then they’ve advocated across industries for corporate social responsibility and preventing worker exploitation. The CIW also created the Fair Food Program which has helped add more than $45 million to farm workers’ paychecks.

Mutindo Women aims to increase representation in the construction and real estate industries by connecting women to networking and job opportunities. Mutindo Women has built over 15 houses across the country since forming in 2019, and has even collaborated on projects with men in the field.

Siragugal Bricks is a community-owned brick kiln operated by rescued bonded laborers, aiming to rehabilitate and empower them to explore business endeavors and find more sustainable, safer sources of income. Since April 2022, 100 families have worked for Siragugal and local government organizations have helped obtain funding and supplies to facilitate Siragugal’s operations, such as power supplies, a work shed and a borehole for water.

Deliveristas Unidos started as a WhatsApp group for local delivery workers to connect, but over time it turned into a mobilized organization of thousands of delivery workers ready to take to the streets to protect their rights as workers. Through their organizing, the group managed to get a legislative package passed that enacted several laws that guaranteed their rights and protections, including access to bathrooms in restaurants across the city, transparent communication with delivery apps about tips, as well as hourly pay.