Charleston Alliance for Fair Employment / Charleston Worker Center

Field Organizer

Based in Charleston, SC

 

The Field Organizer is an essential role in CAFÉ/CWC, whose responsibilities are focused on developing worker-led campaigns through leadership identification, recruiting, organizing, and mobilizing workers to participate in collective action that improves the lives of working people on the job and in the communities of the South Carolina Lowcountry. 

The Field Organizer builds CAFÉ/CWC through developing worker-leaders, facilitating dialogue, organizing effective communication and mobilizing networks. Organizers connect workplace struggles to our broader efforts to build worker power and a wider movement to organize the South. 

Duties and Responsibilities: 
Organizing and Outreach

• Conduct worker outreach to recruit, identify, and develop workers to form committees and campaigns (ex. union organizing drives, workplace-specific issue campaigns, etc.)
• Lead effective and productive 1:1s and group meetings with workers and community allies
• Incorporate workers across various workplaces and sectors into a wider Charleston-based labor movement through programmatic development and solidarity actions
• Plan and execute actions in conjunction with workers and community-based organizations
• Build relationships with other unions, labor-based organizations, and community allies within the larger regional and national movement for social and economic justice
• Manage organizing database in Action Builder

Strategy and Communications

• Work with other CAFÉ/CWC staff, leadership, and partners to create, execute, and evaluate strategic organizing plans
• Work with CAFÉ/CWC staff to to develop communications and outreach targeted towards both community groups and workplace-specific concerns

Detailed areas of work currently include:

• Organizing federal/public sector workers, manufacturing workers, and veterans into various campaigns
• Providing support to a growing Charleston-based community, faith, and labor coalition and the Spirit & Solidarity training program
• Liaisoning and coordinating with regional and national labor networks, such as (but not limited to) the Federal Unionists Network, Southern Workers Assembly, and May Day Strong

Qualifications

• Deep commitment to worker-led organizing practices and social justice;
• At least 1 year of organizing experience in worker-related campaigns and projects (experience in community or labor organizing in the South is a plus, but not required);
• Excellent communications skills—listening, spoken, and written—including the ability to establish and maintain 1:1 interpersonal communications;
• Willingness to learn and articulate CAFÉ/CWC’s vision and mission to workers and community partners;
• Ability to establish and cultivate relationships with people from diverse backgrounds, including workers, other staff, board members, and community partners;
• Strong sense of self-motivation, time management, and ability to work independently and take action with minimal supervision;
• Proficiency in database management and social media;
• Fluency in Spanish is a plus, but not required.

Supervision
The Field Organizer will report to the CAFÉ/CWC board; as such, the Organizer must receive direction from and interact with the board on a regular and consistent basis. The Organizer must be able to effectively organize their time and develop and carry out her/his plan with minimum supervision. 

Work Expectations and Salary
This is an in-person position; selected candidates who are not already located within 30 miles of Charleston are expected to relocate
Organizers are expected to work forty-hour weeks, sometimes with irregular hours and work on weekends and holidays when necessary
Travel is usually limited to the Tri-County Area (Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester) with occasional opportunities for out-of-state travel
Must have a valid driver’s license, use of a personal vehicle, and valid vehicle insurance

The salary range is $60,000 to $75,000 and will be commensurate with experience

To Apply
Please submit a résumé, cover letter, and at least two (2) references (names, phone numbers, and email addresses) to: info@charlestonalliance.org. Please include “Field Organizer Application” in the subject line of your email. This position is open until filled.

About Us: The Charleston Alliance for Fair Employment (CAFÉ)/Charleston Workers Center (CWC) builds workers’ organizations that fight for fairness, equality, and democracy in the workplaces and communities of the South Carolina Lowcountry

CAFÉ supports the formation of unions and other workplace-based groups through worker education and leadership development, advocacy, and direct action. Our work is grounded in the certainty that there are no shortcuts to ending poverty and racism in Charleston and in the South. Only a labor-led mass movement with workers’ organizations at its center has the power to bring about the radical transformation of the region’s economy that we believe is necessary for the realization of what our late friend and longtime CAFÉ member James Campbell referred to as substantive democracy. 

CAFÉ/CWC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Women, LGBT people, and people of color are strongly encouraged to apply.