One Fair Wage

Connecticut State Director

Based in Connecticut
(hybrid)

 

Location: Hybrid — office + remote, with regular travel across Connecticut.
Reports to: National Deputy Director
Compensation: $80,000 – $90,000 annually, commensurate with experience
Benefits: Health insurance, paid time off, flexible hybrid schedule
Status: Full-time, exempt
Start date: ASAP — applications reviewed on a rolling basis

About One Fair Wage
One Fair Wage (OFW) fights for fair wages on behalf of the more than 13.6 million restaurant workers nationwide, including 300,000 restaurant worker members and over 2,500 "high road" restaurant employers. While OFW focuses on restaurant workers, it also advocates for raises for all tipped workers, workers making a subminimum wage, and other low-wage service workers. OFW organizes service workers, employers, and consumers to advance local, state, and federal policy requiring a full, fair minimum wage with tips on top for all workers.

OFW is now leading the national Living Wage for All campaign. Half of all U.S. workers earn less than $25/hour — below what it takes to meet basic needs anywhere in the country. Workers and allies have already won historic wage increases and eliminated subminimum wages for nearly 1.5 million workers in places like Washington, DC, Chicago, and Michigan, and active Living Wage For All campaigns are underway in California, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Illinois, and Washington, DC. The $25 floor comes from MIT's Living Wage Calculator — nowhere in the country is the living wage lower than that figure.

About the Connecticut Campaign
The Connecticut Living Wage for All Coalition is building and planning on State legislation, including setting a foundation with coalition partners across the state. We are looking for a leader ready to move the campaign forward and set the stage to bring Living Wages to Connecticut. 

Position Summary
The Connecticut State Director leads coalition coordination and on-the-ground organizing for the Living Wage for All campaign in Connecticut. This person is the campaign's public face and connective tissue — holding relationships with labor and community partners, staffing the office, developing worker leaders, and running the field program. This is a relationship-first, high-visibility role for someone who can move between a legislator's office, a shift change outside a restaurant, and a coalition steering call in the same day.

Key Responsibilities
Coalition Coordination & Leadership

• Serve as primary staff lead for the Connecticut Living Wage for All Coalition — agendas, meeting facilitation, follow-up, and accountability across 10+ partner organizations
• Hold regular 1-to-1s with labor and community partners to maintain trust, alignment, and shared ownership of campaign strategy
• Keep the dual demand — living wage floor and elimination of the subminimum tipped wage — unified across all coalition messaging and partner communications
• Manage coalition communications: listserv, partner updates, mobilization alerts, and shared documentation

Legislative & Policy Advocacy

• Build and maintain relationships with Connecticut General Assembly members, committee chairs, and staff; maintain a live power map of decision-makers
• Coordinate hearing mobilizations: testimony recruitment and prep, witness panel design, sign-up logistics, run-of-show, and day-of coordination
• Track and counter opposition messaging from industry associations and chambers, with sourced, evidence-based rebuttals
• Support press strategy in coordination with OFW communications staff and campaign lobbyists

On-the-Ground Organizing

• Work with and build an organizing culture to plan and execute organizing blitzes in target neighborhoods and other priority areas across the state. 
• Staff the office for regular open office hours, welcoming prospective restaurant and service worker member-leaders
• Conduct direct outreach to tipped, immigrant, and youth workers; run 1-to-1s and move workers up a ladder of engagement
• Develop worker leaders who can testify, speak to press, and represent the campaign publicly
• Support the national team with identifying potential high-road restaurant employer allies across the state. 

Events & Mobilization

• Plan and execute rallies, lobby days, worker meetings, town halls, and press conferences
• Produce run-of-show documents, briefing materials, and day-of logistics for campaign events
• Drive turnout to hearings and actions. 

Data & Reporting

• Maintain accurate worker and partner data in EveryAction; track outreach, 1-to-1s, and leader identification against weekly goals
• Report progress on national organizing calls and to OFW leadership

Qualifications
Required

• 3+ years of experience in community, labor, or political organizing, with demonstrated success building a base of directly impacted people
• Experience coordinating coalitions or managing multi-organization relationships
• Working knowledge of legislative advocacy and the policy process; comfort in the halls of a state capitol
• Strong facilitation skills and the ability to run a meeting that people want to come back to
• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to write a punchy talking point and a fully sourced testimony
• Demonstrated commitment to racial, economic, and gender justice
• Ability to work a flexible schedule including evenings and weekends to meet workers where they are
• Reliable transportation and ability to travel across Maryland
• Comfort with database tracking (EveryAction, VAN, or similar) and standard office/collaboration tools

Preferred

• Lived experience in the restaurant or service industry
• Existing relationships within Connecticut labor, faith, or community organizing networks
• Conversational Spanish or another language spoken by service workers
• Experience supervising, coaching, or developing organizers
• Familiarity with Connecticut General Assembly process and political landscape

Working Conditions
This role is hybrid — a mix of remote work and time in the office, with substantial field time. Campaign work is not 9-to-5: expect regular evening and weekend hours during session and around major mobilizations, balanced with flexibility during slower periods. 

To Apply
Submit a cover letter and résumé to Jen Disla, National Deputy Director, at jen@onefairwage.org with the subject line "CT State Director – [Your Name]." Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

One Fair Wage is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage applications from people of color, women, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and people with direct experience in the service industry.