Senior Black Worker Organizer

Location: Prince George’s County, Maryland

Summary: Progressive Maryland was founded to empower communities to act for social and economic justice by developing leaders and cultivating allies in order to build a grassroots movement with the power to advance economic, racial, and environmental equity. We are made up of over 125,000 individual members and supporters and dozens of affiliated religious, community and labor organizations statewide.

Senior Black Worker Organizer: The Organizer will work to develop a worker center program as a core component of the work of Progressive Maryland and organize Black workers. This position is a part of the 7/10 Black Workers Center. The 7/10 Worker Center will focus particularly on the needs of Black workers as well as formerly-incarcerated people. The Organizer will build connections with employers in the region and tap into networks of service providers to connect justice-impacted individuals and other low wage Black workers with jobs and other supports they need to build a successful career. They will build a base of Black workers who are seeking to improve working conditions and develop them as grassroots leaders that will self-determine what their needs are and build power for policy reforms which will increase the availability of quality jobs and increased rights at work. In addition to this organizing work, the Organizer will work to hold events to educate workers on their rights and events that increase their job prospects. The Organizer also builds relationships with allied organizations, elected officials, and other stakeholders. Under the supervision of the Executive Director, the Organizer works in concert with our team of organizers across the state to execute grassroots power-building plans that further Progressive Maryland’s programmatic and electoral goals.

Responsibilities

● Build a base of Black workers that includes formerly-incarcerated workers, volunteers, and other grassroots leaders

● Recruit, develop and train members to take positions of leadership within the worker center and to advocate for their rights

● With support from the Executive Director, collaborate with our formerly-incarcerated members to develop and implement campaigns to address the challenges and barriers they face in accessing high-quality employment.

● Mobilize our base to take action (turning out to events, submitting testimony during legislative session, signing petitions, etc.)

● Meet base building and outreach goals, which are tracked and reported in an accurate and timely fashion each week

● Represent Progressive Maryland at community events and meetings

● Build relationships with community organizations and advocates to generate support for the worker center's efforts

● Invite people to become dues-paying members of Progressive Maryland

● Recruit, manage, and train members to canvass and phone bank before, during, and after election season

Qualifications

● Several years of experience leading on a social justice issue and/or progressive electoral campaign

● Several years of experience in grassroots community organizing, union organizing, canvassing, and phone banking

● An understanding of the challenges faced by returning citizens, especially regarding employment

● Ability to meet deadlines while handling multiple projects

● Ability to work independently, as a member of a team, and a team lead

● Ability to train and manage member volunteers

● Basic computer literacy and a willingness to quickly learn and use new digital platforms

● The ability to think, reflect, communicate, challenge the conventional wisdom, make judgments in complicated situations, and show flexibility

● A clear sense of the challenges our communities face, impatience in the face of those wrongs, and a drive to address them

● Residence in or a willingness to relocate to Maryland or DC

Pluses (but not required)

● Familiarity with Maryland political systems on the city, county, and state level

● Experience working with justice-impacted individuals

● Experience with Votebuilder/VAN and other campaign platforms

Travel: All positions require reliable access to a vehicle and a valid driver’s license, laptop, phone, and willingness to travel throughout your region regularly and elsewhere in Maryland as needed.

Salary, Benefits, and Position Details: Salary is commensurate with experience between $59,000-$65,500. Benefits include 100% employer-paid health, vision, and dental insurance, a 403(b) retirement plan with an employer match, 2 weeks paid vacation, 6 personal days, 15 sick days, and holidays. Progressive Maryland is a proudly unionized workplace.

Progressive Maryland is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Women, People of Color, LGBTQ people, Returning Citizens, and Immigrants are strongly encouraged to apply.