Campaign School

In 2022, Worker Power Institute created the Worker Power Campaign School, a free, month-long in-residence training program dedicated to educating the next generation of organizers who will run strong field campaigns rooted in the best traditions of union organizing and nonviolent direct action.

Our first cohort of fifteen students included a diverse group of candidates with beginner levels of experience in field canvassing and activism. The majority of them were rank-and-file members of the hospitality workers union UNITE HERE. Students participated in classroom trainings on the economics of oppression, the history of racism and civil rights struggle in the United States, and the function of labor unions in advancing working and living standards for working families in the United States and beyond. Their classroom work was complemented by extensive field canvassing and hands-on mentoring.

The results of Worker Power’s first Campaign School were a resounding success. Every member of the initial Worker Power Campaign School cohort served in a leadership capacity in Worker Power’s voter engagement campaigns in 2022. Six graduated into organizing jobs with Worker Power and partner organizations, and 5 others were union members on leave-of-absence from their hospitality jobs who, having taken a new set of skills back to their workplaces, will be better able to advocate for themselves and their coworkers.