We believe that all workers have a right to a meaningful voice in the terms and conditions of their employment.  Morally, this right should not depend on their race, nationality or immigration / citizenship status; legally, all workers have this right.  But all too often, their capacity to exercise this right varies with these factors. 

We believe that documented and undocumented workers alike contribute to our  community in many ways: as producers, we provide services essential to the functioning of our local economy; as consumers, our purchases support the jobs of many other members of our community; and as volunteers, we give many hours of our time every week to activities that enhance the quality of life in our community.  We deserve respect for these contributions.

We believe that, all too often, the people who do the kinds of work that we do are not given the respect that we deserve, and we believe that this can and must be changed by standing up for ourselves and working with other allies in our community. 

We believe that the formation of workers’ centers across the country is vital to increasing both the number of people who are part of the U.S. labor movement, and the representation of women, minorities and immigrant workers at all levels within our movement.  Workers’ centers also bring new strategies and tactics that can circumvent some of the obstacles that currently frustrate union organizing efforts. 

We believe that these changes in the size, composition and strategies of our labor movement are necessary if we are to rebuild its economic and political power.   

We believe that until we rebuild the economic and political power of our labor movement, we will not be able to reverse the growing economic inequality and social injustice that has characterized the last three decades of U.S. history.  Nor will we be able to significantly improve the quality of our democracy.