COMMUNITY/ECONOMIC JUSTICE ORGANIZING
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)
ACORN is “the nation's largest community organization of low and moderate-income families, with over 175,000 member families organized into 850 neighborhood chapters in more than 70cities across the country”. The group organizes around issues like living wage, predatory lending, and housing.
National: www.acorn.org
In Albuquerque:
411 Bellamah NW
Albuquerque, NM 87102
phone: 242-7411
email:
The Gamaliel Foundation is a faith-based organization that organizes around issues of immigrant rights, schools and urban areas. Gamaliel has an organizer and leadership training, also.
www.gamaliel.org
Phone: 312 357-2639
The Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) was founded by Saul Alinsky with the goal of revitalizing the democratic process from the ground up. With 55 affiliates around the country, the IAF organizes around issues of housing, living wage, and schools. The IAF hires and trains organizers.
www.industrialareasfoundation.org
Local affiliate:
Albuquerque Interfaith
6001 Marble Avenue NE Suite 1 Albuquerque, NM 87110
Phone: (505) 268 3991
The Kensington Welfare Rights Union (KWRU) is organizes “welfare recipients, the homeless, the working poor and all people concerned with economic justice.” Based in Philadelphia theKWRU is leading the grassroots Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign.
www.krwu.org
The Pacific Institute for Community Organization (PICO), is an interfaith network that organizes for schools, healthcare, safe neighborhoods and housing. PICO is based in California, but has national affiliates.
www.piconetwork.org
Phone: 510 655 2801
SouthWest Organizing Project (SWOP) is a local (Albuquerque) grassroots organization working to "empower our communities to realize racial and gender equality and social and economic justice”.
Michael Guerrero () or
Marjorie Childress ()
www.swop.net
211 10th St. SW
Albuquerque, NM, 87194
phone: 247.8832
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ORGANIZING
Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice (SNEEJ) organizes for “collective regional strategies and perspectives on environmental degradation and other social, racial, generational, economic and gender injustices”. SNEEJ is based in Albuquerque.
www.sneej.org
PO Box 7399
Albuquerque, NM 87194
phone: 242-0416
LABOR ORGANIZING
The AFL-CIO Organizing Institute (OI) is the training and job placement center for the largest federation of union’s in the US. Union organizing jobs usually pay better than community organizing. The OI also has a summer internship for college students called Union Summer.
http://www.aflcio.org/aboutunions/oi/
Union Summer: Chris Colovos ()
Jobs With Justice (JWJ) is “a network of local coalitions that connect labor, faith-based, community, and student organizations” organizing campaigns for workplace and community social justice. The local JWJ chapter is the SouthWest Organizing Project (see Community Organizing). www.jwj.org
The Work Site is a growing website that provides tools, resources, and strategy debate for organizers and activists. www.theworksite.org
ORGANIZER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
National Organizers Alliance (NOA)
The NOA is a nationwide association for neighborhood, labor and environmental organizers. They have a jobs clearinghouse, a pension plan for organizers, and biennial gatherings.
www.noacentral.org
phone: 202-543-6603
The Midwest Academy is a Chicago-based school for “community organizations, citizen organizations and individuals committed to progressive social change”. They have five day training sessions, a jobs database, and an organizing manual.
www.midwestacademy.com
phone: (312) 427-2304
The Direct Action & Research Training (DART) Network is a national association of “grassroots, metropolitan, congregation-based, community organizations” bases mostly in the Midwest and the Southern United States. They have a paid organizer training institute.
www.thedartcenter.org
Headquarters phone: 305-576-8020
Training center phone: 937-222-5327
OTHER ORGANIZING LINKS
People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER)
www.fairwork.org
Welfare Rights Organizing Coalition(WROC)
www.wroc.org
Southern Empowerment Project
www.southernempowerment.org
The Bus Riders Union
www.busridersunion.org
The United States Student Association
www.usstudents.org
UNM contact:
Yesenia Garcia
Re-Visioning New Mexico
www.nmpace.org
Local (505) 255-4266
147 Harvard SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
Chicago Coalition For The Homeless
www.chicagohomeless.org
The Highlander Center
www.highlandercenter.org
Many of the organizations hire organizers regularly.
PAMPHLET COMPILED BY
Stephen Carvlin Miller
2004