State and federal welfare-to-work programs often discourage participants from organizing or engaging in collective bargaining. These programs operate in isolation, with no shared structure or communication. Collective bargaining advocacy for welfare-to-work program participants should be a fundamental right. As part of the CJP reform campaign, we are working to organize a union of welfare-to-work participants. Local unions would form first, building toward a unified national network.

The San Francisco Living Wage Coalition argues that welfare-to-work participants should not be denied the power of collective bargaining, as it is a fundamental workers’ right. By meeting with other coalitions and activist groups from across the nation, the Living Wage Coalition hopes to move their vision of a union of welfare-to-work program participants forward. Through our work with other social justice campaigns focusing on issues of race, class, and various forms of discrimination, the San Francisco Living Wage Coalition plans to organize a comprehensive and inclusive initiative of collective bargaining for the future.

Written by Sally Baker