All posts by Murphy Institute

Home, Labor Studies, Media

Al Jazeera on Unionization, Pay Discrimination

The latest report from Murphy Professors Ruth Milkman and Stephanie Luce, The State of the Unions: A Profile of Organized Labor in New York City, New York State, and the United States, continues to gain coverage, this time over at Al Jazeera. In an article by Murphy alum Ned Resnikoff (Unionization found to reduce pay discrimination, Al Jazeera, 9/7/15), the writer outlines some findings from the report:

The earnings gap between black and nonblack workers is smaller among union members than among members of the labor force as a whole, according to a report issued Friday from the City University of New York’s Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies.

The report found that unionized black workers make a median $21.62 per hour, roughly 10 percent less than unionized nonblack workers’ $24.04 hourly wage. Nonunion black workers earned a median $13.65 per hour, compared with nonunion nonblack workers’ $17.00 — a nearly 20 percent pay disadvantage. Continue reading Al Jazeera on Unionization, Pay Discrimination →

Home, Media, Murphy News, Urban Studies

New Yorker Coverage of Book by Prof. Michael Fortner

Murphy Institute Professor Michael Fortner’s hotly anticipated new book Black Silent Majority: the Rockefeller Drug Laws and the Politics of Punishment gains yet more coverage with the latest edition of the New Yorker. In Kelefa Sanneh’s review, Body Count, the writer places Fortner’s book in conversation with the latest from Ta-Nehisi Coates (Between the World and Me) as well as Michelle Alexander’s 2010 book, The New Jim Crow:

This summer, the Black Lives Matter movement got a literary manifesto, in the form of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s “Between the World and Me” (Spiegel & Grau), a slender but deeply resonant book that made its début atop the Times best-seller list[…]

Four decades ago, a number of black leaders were talking in similarly urgent terms about the threats to the black body. The threats were, in the words of one activist, “cruel, inhuman, and ungodly”: black people faced the prospect not just of physical assault and murder but of “genocide”—the horror of slavery, reborn in a new guise. The activist who said this was Oberia D. Dempsey, a Baptist pastor in Harlem, who carried a loaded revolver, the better to defend himself and his community. Dempsey’s main foe was not the police and the prisons; it was drugs, and the criminal havoc wreaked by dealers and addicts. Continue reading New Yorker Coverage of Book by Prof. Michael Fortner →

Home, Labor Studies, Media

Praise for Murphy Institute via DC37

The latest issue of the DC 37 newsletter features a column by Murphy Institute alum Moira Dolan singing high praise for Murphy programs, faculty and students. Dolan is senior assistant director at the DC 37 Research and Negotiations Department and recently graduated from the Murphy Institute, in part thanks to assistance from the DC 37 Education Fund. She writes:

Because of my work in the DC 37 Research and Negotiations Dept. the Labor Studies Program at CUNY was a perfect fit[…]

Some of my favorite teachers included Ed Ott, who taught public sector and public policy, and who told many fascinating anecdotes from the past; Ruth Milkman, who taught labor and immigration; Steve Jenkins from SEIU 32 B-J, who instructed us on corporate research methods; and Josh Freeman, who taught labor history.

As compelling as these educators were, my fellow students were even more interesting. Through them, I got to know what it’s like to work at other unions — or be represented by other unions.

To read the full article, click here.

Labor and Community Job Opportunities, Opportunities

Community Organizer with Churches United For Fair Housing, Inc.

Churches United for Fair Housing is a grassroots organization that works towards community empowerment through community organizing, youth engagement, and by providing sophisticated social services. CUFFH organizes towards preserving and creating vibrant communities that are not exclusive and are really affordable to working families in New York City.

CUFFH serves everyone in our communities regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, or political affiliation.

POSITION SUMMARY:

  • Community Organizer will create new, and will cultivate existing relationships with CUFFH’s clergy network and will build our base to tackle pressing community issues.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Enlist churches to join CUFFH.
  • Create and Cultivate relationships with Clergy and lay leaders.
  • Represent CUFFH at public events.
  • Build lay action committees in CUFFH member congregations for leadership development.
  • Represent CUFFH to key allies and coalition meetings.
  • Design and launch a leadership development program for lay leaders from CUFFH member churches who will mobilize parishioners.
  • Organize community members to pass legislation which makes affordable housing more accessible in our communities.

QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Deep passion for social justice
  • Committed to help grow our efforts, and is willing to share insight and ideas as to how to expand the impact of our organizing work.
  • Member of an organization that “base builds” and has a social justice mission, and community organizing experience is a plus but not mandatory.
  • High energy and positive attitude
  • Must be reliable
  • Strong communication skills
  • Willing to work flexible hours
  • Basic internet skills
  • Bilingual (English & Spanish)

How to apply

Please e-mail your resume and cover letter to HR@cuffh.org with “Community Organizer Position” in the subject line.

Labor and Community Job Opportunities, Opportunities

Community Organizer for Race and Policing Reform Campaign with NAACP

The NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) seeks an experienced, dynamic and innovative Community Organizer to advance its Race and Policing Reform Campaign.
LDF and the Thurgood Marshall Institute at LDF:

LDF is the nation’s first and foremost civil and human rights law organization. Since its founding under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall in 1940, LDF has been committed to transforming this nation’s promise of racial equity and justice into reality for all Americans.

LDF uses litigation, public-policy advocacy, organizing and public-education programs to ensure the fundamental and basic human rights of all people to quality education, economic opportunity, the right to vote and fully participate in democracy, and the right to a fair criminal justice system.

In 2015, LDF celebrates its 75th anniversary with the launch of the Thurgood Marshall Institute. The Thurgood Marshall Institute at LDF is a collaborative hub within LDF that combines a multidisciplinary approach to advocacy with LDF’s traditional litigation strengths to advance a modern vision of racial justice. The Institute’s goal is to advance racial equity, justice and a more inclusive democracy through research and public education, targeted policy reform, advocacy and communication campaigns.

Through the Thurgood Marshall Institute, LDF will have the ability to generate and integrate innovative research, organizing, advocacy, and communications aimed at educating the public and key decision makers. This added capacity will leverage LDF’s litigation expertise, advocacy experience and unique leadership role on matters of race, law, and policy to shape the narrative on racial justice and equity. Through targeted policy reform campaigns that attack entrenched problems of racial bias, the LDF Thurgood Marshall Institute will partner with local advocates to advance holistic strategies to achieve obtainable and lasting solutions on issues of criminal justice, political participation, education and economic opportunity.

The Thurgood Marshall Institute’s Race and Policing Reform Campaign:

As one of its inaugural initiatives, the Thurgood Marshall Institute is launching a Race and Policing Reform Campaign. The United States is undeniably in the depths of a national policing crisis. The life-threatening reality of racial bias in policing has undermined public confidence in our justice system, in law enforcement, and in the rule of law itself. Outrage over police-involved assaults and killings of unarmed African Americans—with many incidents captured in graphic and devastating detail on citizen cell phone videos—has inspired a movement of young activists, captured the public attention, and generated intense calls for a fundamental change in policing.

Through the Race and Policing Reform campaign, LDF will reform policing policies and practices through work at the federal, state and local levels.

Community Organizer for the Thurgood Marshall Institute’s Race and Police Reform Campaign:

LDF understands that advocacy outside the courtroom – specifically, community organizing – is a critical component of any effort to achieve sustained and comprehensive reform. Thus, to advance its Race and Policing Reform campaign, the Thurgood Marshall Institute at LDF seeks an experienced, dynamic and innovative Community Organizer to work with communities of color on police reform issues. The duration of this position is two (2) years.

The Community Organizer will report to LDF’s Senior Community Organizer and will work on campaigns managed by a Campaign Lead and the Thurgood Marshall Institute Director .

Responsibilities:
• Valuing, highlighting and building the capacity of impacted communities to effectively organize initiatives to address police misconduct/brutality and discriminatory policing;
• Working with local communities to assist in building their capacity to change law enforcement policies and practices, and promoting bias-free and responsible policing;
• Organizing communities or coalitions to advance reforms to public systems, including but not limited to juvenile or criminal justice systems;
• Developing and maintaining relationships, partnerships, and coalitions with organizations, community members/leaders, and public officials;
• Planning, implementing and coordinating successful community outreach and public education campaigns; and
• Advocating for LDF’s police reform and other priorities.

Qualifications:
The ideal candidate for this position will possess the following characteristics and skills:
• Five or more years of experience organizing communities or coalitions to advance reforms to public systems, including but not limited to juvenile or criminal justice systems;
• A college degree or equivalent work experience;
• A demonstrated commitment to racial justice and criminal justice reform;
• A willingness to advocate for LDF’s police reform and other priorities;
• Familiarity with police misconduct/brutality and discriminatory policing issues and campaigns and with the organizations and coalitions currently working on these issues nationally;
• A demonstrated commitment to valuing, highlighting and building the capacity of impacted communities to effectively organize initiatives to address police misconduct/brutality and discriminatory policing;
• Willingness to travel extensively to both urban and rural areas in the United States;
• Willingness to adhere to a fluid/dynamic and sometimes demanding schedule;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to convey complex information effectively to a wide range of audiences of varying sizes;
• A demonstrated ability to plan, implement and coordinate successful community outreach and public education campaigns;
• A demonstrated ability to develop and maintain relationships, partnerships, with coalitions of organizations, community members/leaders, and public officials via the internet, in-person and telephone;
• The integrity, professionalism, discretion, and sound judgment to handle sensitive, high-profile, legally privileged and otherwise confidential information in an appropriate manner;
• The ability to work both in a team structure and independently, as required by different circumstances;
• Strong initiative and creative thinking; well-developed interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate with diverse groups;
• Excellent organizational skills; and
• A valid driver’s license.

Location:
This position is located in our New York or District of Columbia office.

How to apply
Please submit your resume and cover letter: Email to: jobs@naacpldf.org
or
Monica Garcia, Director of Human Resources/Administration NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
40 Rector Street, 5th floor
New York, New York 10006

We seek to fill this position immediately.

The NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to you without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, age, veteran status, disability or genetic information.

Labor and Community Job Opportunities, Opportunities

US Field Organizer with Global Zero

There are no insurmountable technical barriers to achieving a world without nuclear weapons. The only barriers are political: it is a matter of the leaders of the nuclear powers acting with urgency and resolve. But political will rarely springs to life on its own. Real action on disarmament will require public pressure several orders of magnitude greater than exists today.

Over the last several years, Global Zero has built an international community of leaders and experts to champion global nuclear disarmament. This support is deeply credible and necessary, but not sufficient: generating pressure requires robust grassroots infrastructure that can shine a spotlight on the issue and mobilize the public.

This cannot be secondary. Relentless, long-range, capacity-building movement work is time-consuming, difficult and expensive. It’s also the only way to change hearts and minds, build power that lasts and win in the long run. And global nuclear disarmament is a long-run proposition.

That’s where you come in.

To succeed in the battles that will intensify on the road to zero, we’re hiring a U.S. Field Organizer based in Washington, DC (or another major U.S. city) to join our organizing team. This person will be responsible for leading our campaign execution and volunteer mobilization efforts on college campuses and in local communities in key markets across the country. The Field Organizer will play a critical role in the continued development and execution of our Action Corps volunteer leadership program by recruiting, training, and mobilizing volunteer activists in the U.S. to implement Global Zero’s global and national campaigns on the ground. The Field Organizer will also develop Global Zero’s grassroots presence in target states around the 2016 presidential election cycle. This role will also provide general support of Global Zero’s advocacy and campaigning work across the U.S. The Field Organizer will report to the Deputy Campaign Director. Frequent domestic and occasional international travel will be required.

This exciting, challenging position is the perfect fit for an individual with strong public organizing skills and a passion for building social movements. You have a knack for making global issues feel local and are comfortable building relationships with university faculty, students, and local community leaders. You are results driven and know how to make things happen. Direct action experience is a must; you don’t hesitate to come up with an idea that’s crazy in all the right ways, know how to make it happen quickly, and generate the noise to have a real impact. Above all else, you are a public organizer at heart, and can inspire people to turn out anywhere, anytime.

 
The gig:
Among other things, the U.S. Field Organizer will:

  • Recruit and train volunteer leaders as campaign organizers and advocates at key colleges and target communities across the country;
  • Manage both campus and community organizing efforts and the execution Global Zero’s national advocacy campaigns;
  • Manage the work of volunteer leaders in the region, including conveying priorities, developing materials, drafting communications and the tracking and reporting of metrics;
  • Develop and implement a strategy to increase Global Zero’s membership;
  • Develop Global Zero’s grassroots presence in target states around the 2016 presidential election cycle;
  • Play a critical role in the delivery of trainings that will excite, inspire and inform local volunteers, with a goal of developing more savvy volunteer advocates;
  • Train, mobilize, and deploy volunteers nationwide; be prepared to rally people on and off campus to execute rapid response offline tactics at a moment’s notice;
  • Manage local lobbying strategy and direct advocacy targeting key decision- makers;
  • Build relationships with high profile leaders on campuses and communities in an effort to strengthen Global Zero’s political networks; and
  • Manage educational efforts targeting volunteers including monthly conference calls, newsletters, email blasts, and trainings.

     
    WHAT’S REQUIRED

  • Bachelor’s degree required and at least 1 year experience mobilizing and organizing activists, preferably both on and off campus;
  • Self-starter and a strategic thinker with a creative edge who is socially conscious, organized, detail-oriented and able to manage complex projects;
  • Skilled communicator with strong interpersonal skills who will work collaboratively and effectively as a member of an international team;
  • Acute political skills and knowledge of how to work on campus and universities;
  • Experience conceiving, planning and/or executing direct actions;
  • Strong organizational skills; able to multitask and prioritize a number of projects;
  • Superior writing and oral communication skills;
  • Ability to produce under pressure and with tight deadlines;
  • Ability to travel (up to 50% of time);
  • Genuine passion and interest for Global Zero’s issues and priorities; and
  • Ability to meet the physical demands of the job. This includes occasional early meetings, late nights, frequent travel, lifting boxes of campaign chum up to 35 pounds, and other duties as assigned.

     
    THE SETUP

  • Rolling submissions with a preference to those who apply by October 1, 2015;
  • Competitive salary and benefits;
  • Critical role in a rapidly growing, cutting-edge, international movement with opportunities for advancement;
  • Full-time position based in Washington D.C. (open to other major U.S. cities) with travel and the possibility of occasional trips abroad; and
  • Flexible and occasionally intense hours including some evenings and weekends, to accommodate a team across multiple time zones and a rigorous campaign.

     
    How to apply

    Please send your cover letter, resume and writing sample (preferably something campaign related) to work@globalzero.org, with “U.S. Field Organizer” in the subject line. Please note in your email where you saw this posting.