By preparing students for movement work, training worker leaders and organizers, and supporting nonprofit allies, Labor South is building the infrastructure to strengthen organizing in the US South. Labor South brings academics and movement leaders together through local geographic hubs, as well as a virtual center and in-person training, for political education and labor studies and to build a career pipeline with working class young people.
Building Students Leaders
Labor South engages a diverse pool of working-class college students who are currently studying in the US South, while prioritizing recruitment of Black and immigrant students. Students not only learn about the history of the labor movement in the South, they also engage in experiential learning to gain practical research, interviewing, language justice, and organizing skills that can prepare them for movement work. They are introduced to the network of organizations that are supporting workers’ rights. Students can earn a non-accredited Certificate of Working Class Studies through participation in labor courses, intensives and delegations as well as organizing, research, language justice, and oral history internships.
Training Worker Leaders
Labor South collaborates with worker centers, labor unions, and other workers’ rights organizations to provide training and coaching for worker leaders, organizers, staff and board members. Training is tailored to the needs of each organization and complements what workers’ groups currently provide. Training can include board development, fundraising, staff capacity building, and/or Know Your Rights workshops.
Continuing Education for Allies
Labor South coordinates continuing education classes, workshops, charlas, as well as publications, to share labor history and current campaign stories with allies and nonprofit organization staff members. These activities enable us to build a community of allies that supports current labor campaigns and that fosters the incorporation of organizing efforts into nonprofit organizations’ strategies. As a part of this, we can work with nonprofit managers to help them understand how to negotiate with workers in good faith for a fair contract.