Jamie Way's blog

Affiliate POWER’s founding Executive Director, Bishop Dwayne Royster, will be transitioning to serve as Political Director for People Improving Communities through Organizing (PICO) National Network at the end of this month. We thank Bishop Royster for his hard work, dedication and service in making POWER a resolute cornerstone for racial, economic and educational justice in the Greater Philadelphia area. We are proud of his leadership and all that he has done to support POWER in its development and commitment to prophetic boldness.

Eighteen years ago, Silicon Valley affiliate, Working Partnerships USA, launched its 1000 Leaders Project based on the belief that ordinary people rooted in the values of their communities can and should be the ones leading our country.

Early on, WPUSA’s leadership realized that if they were going to build a diverse coalition that could make big gains for working people and govern successfully, they needed to create a space where leaders could develop a shared analysis of region issues.

Affiliate LAANE recently honored Kenneth E. Rigmaiden, General President of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) and a founding board member of the Partnership for Working Families. In this inspiring video, GP Rigmaiden describes his personal journey in America’s Land of Opportunity from serving as an apprentice to becoming unanimously elected to the office of the president by the IUPAT.

As one of the fastest growing cities in the country, Seattle has seen developers and investors cash in on developing the city’s neighborhoods as residents were priced out and pushed from their homes. That is why since its inception, affiliate Puget Sound Sage has advocated for a mandatory inclusionary zoning program. In Sage’s vision, when developers build, the city must capture a public value from this growth in the form of affordable housing.

Four years ago, affiliate EBASE led its Revive Oakland coalition to a landmark victory. When the city decided to redevelop the Oakland Army Base that had sat abandoned for more than a decade, Revive Oakland mobilized the community to ensure that local residents would benefit. Under the Good Jobs Agreement, the coalition won guarantees that project employers would hire local and disadvantaged residents, as well as provide them with pathways to long-term construction careers through apprenticeship programs and long-term warehouse jobs operating the site. But the fight did not end there.