Midwest Academy Organizing for Social Change Fall Schedule

Midwest Academy Organizing for Social Change Fall Schedule

• Oct 24, 2011 - Oct 28, 2011 | Chicago
  • Nov 14, 2011 - Nov 18, 2011 | Washington D.C. / Baltimore
     
    The Midwest Academy offers a five day, residential, comprehensive "Organizing for Social Change" training throughout the country. Participants come from a wide variety of organizations. Most are working on specific issue campaigns and building powerful, progressive organizations. The training helps them to be more strategic in their fight for social, economic, racial and environmental justice.
    There are different methods of organizing or ways of making social change, and all have their uses. Midwest Academy uses and teaches the "Direct Action Organizing" concept. Direct Action Organizing is based on the power of people to take collective action on their own behalf. The point is not that one approach is better than others. In fact, often many kinds of organizing are needed, but the Midwest Academy focuses on Direct Action Organizing.
    
    Read more.
     

   

Jon Stewert's comments on Republican bias toward defense contractors and ACORN

As I have mentioned before the double standard the Republicans have with ACORN and the defense injury.

In this segment on the Daily Show, as Haliburton does nothing to assist an employee who is gang rape by Haliburton employees and later preventing the rape victim from suing the company.

Check out Jon Stewert's commentary:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-october-14-2009/rape-nuts

The double standard with ACORN in compared to the long record of corporate criminals whom we keep giving contracts to.

ACORN: If only Congress removed funds for corporate crime

I read that Congress has voted to cut federal funding to ACORN . The group received federal funds to help residents prepare income taxes.

If only Congress acted so fast with all the corporate crime that Defense Contractors and KBR, Haliburton-like organizations.

Recent allegations of security contractors running brothels and orgies in Afghanistan did not get much of a response from Senator John Cornyn.

According, CorpWatch, Halliburton paid $382 million in fines to the U.S. Department of Justice as part of the settlement of a controversial KBR gas project in Nigeria in which the company admitted to paying a $180 million bribe to government officials.

What remains for community organizers are lessons. There must be internal controls to prevent stuff like this from happning. ACORN is the largest membership organization in the US and the bigger you get the harder it is to internal police. Nevertheless, there are lessons we can learn and a few bad apples should not plague a whole organization.

My question, with the closing intake on forclusure assistance, who will be taking up the slack in this great service to the poor.

It's been a while

It's been a while since I posted to this. But I decided to begin posting on the current organization I'm with and my uphill battle to turn it into more than just a service-oriented organization.

Organizing Women

One of the main things that come up when I arrived at where I am at was that a very powerful women's organization had folded about a year before I arrived. It was a lesson in leadership development and training. But it also had to do with immigration and the transition from undocumented to resident. It seemed at least to the women in the group, that as members got their residency, they drifted a way from the group. I'm wondering if this has happened in other group around the country.

Other aspect involved the leadership training. I seemed that when the organization was under one grant, it recieved a lot of resources in capacity building including recruitment, retention, one-on-ones, and the like. Then this stopped. I'm not sure if the decline started at this point.

The women's organization was a promotora model, not really a traditional CO. So i'm interested in the intersection of the promotora model and the CO models. Well, write in and let me know.

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT- Organizer - Workplace Immigrant & Civil Rights Program

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Organizer - Workplace Immigrant & Civil Rights Program

The East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) advances
economic and social justice by building power and raising standards for
working families. The Workplace Immigrant & Civil Rights (WICR) Program
at EBASE seeks to ensure that all workers have equal rights on the job,
regardless of immigration status or race.

The top priority of the WICR Program is to respond to the current
national crisis of attacks on immigrant workers, particularly
large-scale workplace "reverification" of immigration status. The
program will convene a network of local labor and community
organizations to 1) organize worker defense and public response to
Social Security "no-match" firings, Immigration & Customs Enforcement
(ICE) intervention in labor struggles, discriminatory implementation of
the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC), workplace
discrimination against immigrants, etc. and 2) advocate for policy
reform that protects the civil rights of immigrant workers, including
defeating a proposed Homeland Security regulation on "no-match" letters
that would likely result in mass firings of workers suspected of being
undocumented.

Under the supervision of the EBASE Organizing Director, the WICR
Organizer will:

_ Support an emerging network of unions and community organizations
defending immigrant workers' rights.

_ Organize worker defense, including large-scale mobilizations, in
response to ICE or employer attacks on immigrant workers.

_ Organize both large-scale public action and legislative advocacy for
pro-worker, pro-immigrant policy reform, particularly defeat of the DHS
"no-match" regulation.

_ Partner with local unions and independent worker organizations to
develop worker defense trainings, tools and other resources for local
use.

_ Coordinate participation in local and national campaigns to protect
the civil rights of immigrant workers.

Experience and Abilities Needed:

_ At least two years of experience in labor, community, or political
organizing.

_ Fluency in both Spanish and English required.

_ Experience working with immigrant workers and/or communities,
preferably in the context of an organizing campaign.

_ Experience with coalition work and/or training and popular education
desirable.

_ Commitment to immigrant, social, and economic rights.

_ Commitment to building the labor movement.

_ Accountability to goals and willingness to learn new techniques, ideas
and skills.

_ Excellent personal organization, time management, and interpersonal
communication skills.

_ Proficient at word processing, email, and web basics.

Position requires use of an automobile and may require long and/or
irregular hours of work, including evenings and weekends as needed.
Position open until filled and starts immediately.

Salary & Benefits: Competitive salary, depends on experience. Excellent
benefits package, including employer-paid health, dental and vision
insurance, paid time off, and (if eligible) employer contribution to
pension.

Email cover letter and resume to: Brooke Anderson, EBASE Organizing
Director, at brooke_at_workingea

stbay.org.

EBASE is an affirmative action employer, and strongly supports the
social goals of affirmative action. We therefore make special efforts to
recruit individuals from groups that are historically under-represented
in professional environments, or that suffer from broader societal
discrimination.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brooke Anderson, Organizing Director

East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy

1714 Franklin Street, Suite #325

Oakland, CA 94612

EMAIL: brooke@workingeastbay.org

WEB: http://www.workingeastbay.org

CELL: (510) 846-0766

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wanted: Land Use and Housing Organizer

ORGANIZATION OF THE NORTHEAST

Land Use and Housing Organizer
The Organization of the NorthEast is a thirty-three-year-old community
organization serving the north Lakefront area of Chicago. ONE is an
organization of organizations. Our 82 members include congregations,
businesses, ethnic associations, tenant associations, non-profit agencies
and educational institutions. ONE's mission is to build a successful,
multi-ethnic, mixed economic community on Chicago's northeast side. ONE is
seeking a community organizer to work with our Land Use and Housing Strategy
Team in Edgewater, Rogers Park, Uptown & Ravenswood.

REPORTS TO: Senior Organizer
RESPONSIBILITIES:
. Work with community members on issues of concern to the community
regarding land use, housing and Tax Increment Financing districts.
. Organize and staff meetings regarding land use and community
development issues.
. Work one on one with identified leaders to build their leadership
abilities.
. Arrange workshops, meetings and conferences to provide a variety of
training for staff and community leaders.
. Work with the organization's leaders to organize advocacy campaigns
on issues identified by the leadership.
. Do outreach to residents, organizations, ethnic associations and
public institutions about ONE's campaigns and efforts to create change
in
public policies.
. Canvass and door knock in the areas of Uptown, Edgewater, and Rogers
Park.
. Work with community leaders to participate in city and statewide
coalitions.
. Prepare written reports, meeting summaries, press releases and
related materials as they pertain to the work.
. Assist the Executive Director with other tasks, as assigned.

REQUIREMENTS:
The applicant should have at least two years experience working as a
community organizer.
Must be able to demonstrate the following experiences and skills:
. Excellent written and verbal communication ability.
. Familiarity with a diverse range of organizing tactics and
strategies.
. Proven ability to work with extremely diverse populations, including
age, language & ethnic diversity.
. Experience working with community leaders in a collaborative
fashion.
. Basic computer skills.
. Innovative, creative, mature thinking and reasoning.
. BA degree or equivalent life experience.

This is a community organizing job and as such may require more that 40
hours per week and will certainly require attendance at some night and
weekend meetings. ONE is an equal opportunity employer.
Salary and Benefits: Commensurate with experience, plus individual health
and dental coverage and pension plan

TO APPLY: Send resume and cover letter to Jamiko Rose, Executive Director,
Organization of the NorthEast, 4648 N. Racine, Chicago, IL 60640 or
jrose@onechicago.org. Resumes accepted until position is filled.

Field Organizer needed

From: demcampaigns@aol.com


Jill Lally
SCG/Iraq Summer 2007
773-539-7766



Field Organizers for national campaign targeting congressional and
senate votes to end War in Iraq needed in targeted federal legislative
districts across the country. Political organizing and campaign training
for motivated activists; weekly stipend, housing and gas expenses paid.

Career-minded Political Organizers needed for summer campaign for safe
redeployment out of Iraq, targeting congressional and senate war votes
in selected states/districts. Job involves organizing direct pressure on
Members of Congress all summer, culminating in a challenge to “Take a
Stand” on the war in late August. You will be assigned a region or state
to organize community and state leaders, students, churches, veterans,
etc. You will receive training in political messaging, earned media,
legislative tracking, grassroots organizing, visibility and other tools
of a public campaign.

This is an incredibly meaningful campaign with real results. For those
wishing to further a career in politics, the timing and training
involved is a great opportunity to situate yourself for '08 races as an
experienced campaigner.

Additional Qualifications: You must be able to relocate. You must have
car available to you for the entire campaign. Good communication and
public skills necessary, also political instincts, organizational
abilities, and the commitment to democratic ideals. You must have the
ability and expectation to fully apply yourself to the campaign for the
duration, and be prepared to work in "campaign mode" i.e. 7 days/week,
long hours, and political challenges. Second LANGUAGES a major plus,
women and other minorities encouraged to apply.

How to Apply: Please email your resume, a short cover letter and 3
professional or academic references to: demcampaigns@aol.com. Please
send these ASAP to ensure consideration. Upon receipt of your resume a
campaign rep will call you to schedule a phone interview.

Stipend of $400/week and housing provided plus reimbursements for gas
and tolls during the program. Spanish and other languages very helpful,
women and minorities encouraged to apply, and must be able to relocate