Capital District Worker Center

Capital District WORKER Center

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Gene Rodriguez, CDWC Coordinator began work in December 2006. Send him greetings at cdworkeralbany@yahoo.com. Although he has accepted another position, former coordinator Fred Pfeiffer will continue to serve the CDWC as a Board member.

The Capital District Worker Center opened on September 8, 2004 and is now located at 33 Central Avenue in Albany. Contact Gene and the WC at 518/ 482-5595.

The CDWC's purpose is to build the power of low-wage workers through leadership development in order to achieve living wages, affordable health care/ housing and public policies that benefit the working poor. The CD Worker Center is led by a board of 15, at least half of whom are low-wage workers. It is a project of the New York State Labor-Religion Coalition and a sister organization to the Capital District LRC affiliate, the Labor-Religion Coalition/ Jobs with Justice.

Building Skills Project

Orientation to several construction trades and the chance to operate heavy equipment was part of the Building Skills experience at the annual Construction Career Days at the Eastern NY Laborers’ Training Facility in Glenmont, NY in April 2006. Shown here are Building Skills participants and mentor Gordon McClelland of the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations. MORE

Other Projects and Programs

The following are projects and programs for the CDWC as described in the funding application. They are listed here as examples. The specific projects and programs of the Worker Center will be determined by the board.

Fight for living wages for low income wage earners.
With the support of other progressive organizations in our area we will initiate legislative and industry programs to make sure that all who work for a paycheck receive a living wage including benefit package for their hard work. The Worker Center will send delegations to meet with local elected officials and industry leaders to make sure they are taking steps to address this issue. We will help draft legislation, train low-wage workers to testify, hold press conferences, and write letters and protest when necessary to reach this goal. We will also draw on the experiences of Labor-Religion Coalition affiliates in Buffalo, Syracuse and Elmira where activists coordinated living wage campaigns.

Coordinate the LRC/ JwJ Workers Rights Board.
The Workers Rights Board composed of elected officials, clergy, & community leaders is a tool for worker justice. The Board will initiate hearings on issues affecting the working poor. Workers and industry experts will testify on the exploitation that workers face on the job and in their communities. The Board will issue reports to educate the public and work with area groups to develop action plans to affect fundamental change and reform in the system.

Facilitate union-to-union support for immigrant and low-wage worker organizing drives.
We propose to bring workers from successful organizing drives together with workers attempting to organize a union or gain a contract for advice, support and encouragement. Unions in our area are working to organize or gain contracts for low-wage workers such as janitors, health workers, school bus drivers, hotel staff and day care workers. The Capital District Area Labor Federation is a collaborator on this project.

Develop worker-to-worker organizing mentorship
We expect to recruit and train five mentors who are low-wage workers who have been involved in successful organizing efforts and hold mentoring sessions. Mentors will meet in churches or other neutral settings with workers experiencing workplace injustice. These mentors will turn to the Worker Center staff and union organizers with whom we work for follow-up help. We will collect workers' stories to use in our campaigns for institutional change.

Provide organizing training for Worker Center members.
Fundraising, public speaking, board participation, and action campaign development are some of the topics for leadership development sessions. Our organization needs to be run by board members and activists who want to be involved through participation in their citizenship. We will hold forums on immigrant rights and the rights of felons who have paid their debt to society .

Refer immigrants and low-wage workers to individual empowerment and leadership development training .
These include job development and placement services, computer literacy programs, English as a second language programs and GED home study programs in both Spanish and English.

capital district WORKER center
33 Central Ave.
Albany NY 12210

518/ 482-5595 or cdworkeralbany@yahoo.com