Workers' Rights Board

In addition to building alliances between labor and community groups, Jobs with Justice built a new structure - Workers' Rights Boards - to combat the lack of an adequate legal framework to support worker and economic justice issues.

With Boards in 20 cities, we now have a proven track record that these locally based institutions made up of community leaders, religious leaders, academics, elected officials, and other prominent members of the community, can be effective vehicles to address workers' and community concerns.

Although the Boards have no legal authority, we have learned that the local structure of the Boards can produce real results; where the withered legal framework is slow to move the Boards can spur important action.

Community leaders who agree to serve on a WRB review worker complaints and often conduct public hearings - giving employers the chance to participate - and then seek follow-up meetings with management to report their findings and, if possible, resolve the dispute. In addition to these types of cases, JWJ WRB's have intervened most frequently in organizing situations where workers' rights violations are blatant and serious.

WRB proceedings are part of a one-two counterpunch that includes direct action by labor, community and faith-based activists.

Hearings

On the Providence Journal Labor Dispute on Dec. 10, 2003
On the death of Rosa Ruiz Barrera and the Conditions of Fish
Processing Workers in Rhode Island on Dec. 19, 2001