Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee

Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee
AbbreviationEWOC
FormationMarch 2020 (2020-03)
FounderDSA and UE
TypeUnion organizer training organization
Location
  • United States
Websiteworkerorganizing.org

The Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) is an American union organizer training organization founded in 2020. EWOC is a joint project of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE).[1][2] EWOC provides labor organizing support and training to non-union workers in the United States.[3][4]

Model

EWOC attempts to help "everyday people" organize on the job.[1] EWOC provides direct, remote support to non-union workers who contact the organization.[4][3] Workers are connected with volunteer organizers, who help them assess workplace issues, map relationships among co-workers, build an organizing committee, and plan collective action.[5][3] EWOC runs online trainings and publishes organizing materials.[4][5] EWOC is not a union. EWOC volunteers help workers organize shop-floor campaigns and affiliate with an established union.[4][3]

EWOC's model is highly distributed and relies heavily on volunteers, including labor organizers and DSA members, to assist workers remotely.[2][3] EWOC was inspired by the volunteer-based organizing methods used in the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign.[2]

History

Origins

EWOC began in March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.[1][6] EWOC initially focused on helping workers organize around COVID-19 workplace protections, including paid sick leave, vaccine access, hazard pay, and masking.[7][8][5]

Since 2021, EWOC has focused on organizing the unorganized workers of America.[9] EWOC focuses on industries that have been under-served by the labor movement, such as food service workers.[10]

Unionization campaigns

In February 2021, EWOC volunteers helped organize retail workers at Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California.[8] Workers voted to join Communication Workers of America (CWA) as Local 9423.[11]

In September 2022, EWOC volunteers helped organize healthcare workers at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin, Texas.[9] Workers voted to join National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU).[12] In March 2024, workers won a first contract.[12]

In October 2022, EWOC volunteers helped organize food service workers at Chipotle in Lawrence, Kansas.[13][14] However, Lawrence Chipotle workers were unable to form a union due to extensive unfair labor practices from Chipotle, as determined by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).[15][16] Chipotle settled with the NLRB, posting material about the right to organize in staff areas, but nobody was reinstated or given back pay.[17] Workers in the Lawrence Chipotle were inspired by the August 2022 vote by Chipotle workers in Lansing, Michigan, who were supported by Metro Detroit DSA. Workers voted 11-3 to unionize with International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 243, the chain's first unionized location.[18][19] The Lansing Chipotle was the only Chipotle location to successfully unionize. Contract negotiations in Lansing stalled until 2026, when the union failed to win a contract. Chipotle has never recognized any union at any location.[20] Chipotle was forced to pay $240,000 for busting a union attempt in Augusta, Maine.[21]

In March 2023, EWOC volunteers helped organize retail workers at REI in SoHo.[22] Workers voted to create the REI Union with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) of the AFL-CIO.[23][24][25] On March 2, 2022, workers at REI's SoHo store voted 88–14 in support of the union.[26] As of 2025, eleven REI stores have voted to unionize, but have yet to finish negotiating a contract.[27]

In April 2023, EWOC volunteers helped organize workers at Drunk Shakespeare in Chicago. Workers voted to unionize as Drunk Shakespeare United (DSU) with the Actors' Equity Association (AEA).[28] DSU spread from Chicago to other Drunk Shakespeare locations, including Phoenix and Washington, D.C.[28] In November 2024, DSU Chicago won their first contract, crediting EWOC training and mentorship,[29] which included pay raises, health insurance, and limits to on-stage drinking.[30][31]

In July 2023, EWOC volunteers helped organize food service workers at Barboncino, a Crown Heights pizzeria.[32][33][34] A majority of workers at Barboncino voted to unionize with Workers United NY/NJ of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), representing 40 workers and becoming the first unionized pizzeria in New York City.[35][34]

In November 2023, EWOC volunteers helped organize service workers at board game cafe Hex&Co. in New York City.[10] EWOC helped workers in New York board game cafes The Uncommons and The Brooklyn Strategist follow suit.[36][37] Their union, Tabletop Workers United within Workers United NY/NJ of SEIU, became the first board game worker union in New York City.[38][39] Out of 94 voters, 77 voted to unionize.[40] Tabletop Workers United now represents over 100 workers at all three cafes.[36][37] In 2024, TWU ratified its first contract at Brooklyn Strategist.[41] In 2025, TWU won contracts at all cafes.[37]

In November 2023, EWOC volunteers helped organize retail workers at Trader Joe's in Hadley, Minneapolis, Louisville, and Oakland.[9] Workers voted to form the independent union Trader Joe's United.[42]

In May 2024, EWOC volunteers helped organize food service workers at Blue Bottle Coffee (owned by Nestlé) in Boston, Massachusetts. Workers voted 38–4 form the Blue Bottle Independent Union (BBIU).[43][44][45] In August 2025, EWOC volunteers helped organize Blue Bottle workers in downtown Berkeley, Piedmont Avenue, Old Oakland, and downtown Oakland. California workers voted 22-5 to join BBIU.[46][47] In November 2025, after 92% of workers voted in favor, 80 Boston and 35 California workers went on strike for 4 days during the Thanksgiving weekend. BBIU accused the company of negotiating the union contract in bad faith.[48][49]

In August 2025, EWOC volunteers helped organize beauty care workers at Sugared + Bronzed in Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Workers voted to unionize with Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 9505, the first salon union in the country.[50][51][52]

Impact

In early 2022, Jacobin reported that more than 3,000 workers had contacted EWOC and that nearly 400 organizing campaigns had begun with EWOC support.[5] In June 2023, EWOC reported 186 active labor organizing campaigns.[9] In 2024, Jacobin reported that more than 5,000 workers had reached out to EWOC since 2020.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Wadlin, Laura (2025-08-06). "A Political History of DSA, 1982-2025". The Call. Archived from the original on 2025-08-08.
  2. ^ a b c Datlof, Sam (2020-08-24). "Wanted: An army of organizers". Democratic Socialists of America.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Blanc, Eric (2024-09-03). "The New Labor Organizing Model of EWOC". Jacobin.
  4. ^ a b c d "About Us". Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee. Retrieved 2026-03-04.
  5. ^ a b c d Dirnbach, Eric (2022-02-12). "How Socialists and Trade Unionists Built a New Labor Organizing Model During the Pandemic". Jacobin.
  6. ^ "With a Little Help from My Friends: How Taco Bell Workers and Many More Are Self-Organizing in the Pandemic". Labor Notes. 2020-06-05. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  7. ^ Shapiro, Emily (March 8, 2021). "Texas service workers demand vaccine access, protest end to mask order". ABC News. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  8. ^ a b Colyar, Brock (2022-02-21). "Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee Is Helping Workers During COVID". Teen Vogue.
  9. ^ a b c d Leslie, Abigail (2023-10-27). "How EWOC's Volunteer Organizers are Fueling the New Labor Movement". In These Times.
  10. ^ a b Jeanfrancois, Moses. "Checkmate! Board Game Cafe Workers at Hex Flex and Win Union Recognition Vote". Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  11. ^ York, Jessica A. (February 10, 2021). "Bookshop Santa Cruz ownership, employees hope for quick negotiation process". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2024-01-04.
  12. ^ a b Aldridge, Olivia (2024-03-05). "Nurses' union at Austin's Ascension Seton Medical Center ratifies historic first contract". KUT.
  13. ^ "Kansas Chipotle Workers Latest to Launch Union Drive". Labor Notes. 2022-10-21. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  14. ^ Furman, Jonah (October 21, 2022). "Chipotle Workers in Kansas Are Unionizing". Perfect Union. Archived from the original on 2025-04-10.
  15. ^ Dunn, Cuyler (2023-11-30). "Labor board finds merit in union-busting charges against Lawrence Chipotle; settlement reached". The Lawrence Times.
  16. ^ Wilkins, Brett (August 13, 2024). "New Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol Has a History of Union-Busting". Common Dreams. Archived from the original on 2024-08-14.
  17. ^ Covert, Bryce (August 10, 2025). "Burrito bowl blues: How Chipotle Became a Wall Street Star, and a "Wall of Shame" Employer". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2025-08-10.
  18. ^ Lucas, Amelia (August 25, 2022). "Chipotle restaurant in Michigan votes to unionize, in a first for the chain". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
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  24. ^ Scheiber, Noam (January 23, 2022). "Workers at REI Store in Manhattan Seek to Form Retailer's Only Union". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
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  26. ^ Scheiber, Noam (2022-03-03). "REI Workers in New York Vote to Unionize". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  27. ^ Sanford, Nate. "A labor-backed Seattle activist fights for an REI co-op board seat". Cascade PBS.
  28. ^ a b Chammah, Mauricio (2023-07-13). "Booze, Bard, Union Card: Drunk Shakespeare Troupes Get Organized". American Theatre.
  29. ^ Goodstein, Alyssa (2024-11-18). "Illinois AFL-CIO: Ella Fent, Actors Equity Association, Server/Bartender, Drunk Shakespeare". Actors' Equity Association.
  30. ^ "EWOC and AEA's role in Drunk Shakespeare's first contract". America's Work Force Union Podcast.
  31. ^ EWOC (2024-10-29). "Port strikes and the power of labor". Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee.
  32. ^ Press, Alex N. (2023-05-30). "Barboncino Workers Are Forming New York City's First Unionized Stand-Alone Pizzeria". Jacobin.
  33. ^ Fortney, Luke (2023-05-31). "The Fight to Unionize Restaurants Heads to the New York Pizzeria". Eater New York.
  34. ^ a b Fantozzi, Joanna (2023-07-27). "The same union behind Starbucks just organized the first unionized pizzeria in New York City". Nation's Restaurant News.
  35. ^ Morales, Christina (2023-07-26). "Barboncino, a Brooklyn Pizza Restaurant, Becomes a Union Shop". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  36. ^ a b Thomas, Tim (June 11, 2025). "Unionizing NYC's Board Game Cafés". Jacobin. Archived from the original on 2025-07-25.
  37. ^ a b c Carter, Chase (June 19, 2025). "New York-Based Tabletop Workers United Win a Union Contract After Prolonged Battle". Portside. Archived from the original on 2025-06-29.
  38. ^ "Workers Ratify 1st Ever Tabletop Retail Contract in NYC". Workers United NY/NJ. August 2025. Archived from the original on 2026-03-05.
  39. ^ "Workers Ratify First Ever Tabletop Retail Contract in NYC". NYC CLC, AFL-CIO. June 20, 2025. Archived from the original on 2026-01-21.
  40. ^ Holtermann, Callie (December 27, 2023). "Board Game Café Workers Went on a Quest for a Union and Won". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2024-08-11.
  41. ^ Kronenberg, Shaina (2024-03-11). "Board game cafe workers win union election". The Chief.
  42. ^ Meyers, Marsha (2023-11-21). "Ingredients of Alienation: The Emergence of Trader Joe's United". Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee. Retrieved 2026-03-05.
  43. ^ "Five Blue Bottle Coffee locations in Greater Boston unionize". The Boston Globe. April 3, 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03.
  44. ^ EWOC (June 12, 2024). "A Hotter Labor Summer". Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee. Archived from the original on 2024-07-14.
  45. ^ EWOC (May 2024). "Blue Bottle Coffee Union Organizing". Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee. Archived from the original on 2024-05-13.
  46. ^ "Blue Bottle workers at East Bay's four locations have unionized". NOSH East Bay. August 6, 2025.
  47. ^ Darby, Melissa (August 6, 2025). "East Bay Blue Bottle Coffee workers are unionizing". Berkeleyside. Archived from the original on 2025-08-06.
  48. ^ Toby, Yogev (2025-11-26). "Unionized Blue Bottle workers go on strike ahead of Thanksgiving weekend". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2025-12-14. Retrieved 2025-12-14.
  49. ^ Rose, Summer E. (November 28, 2025). "Blue Bottle Workers Begin 4-Day Strike As Union Seeks First Contract". The Harvard Crimson. Archived from the original on 2025-11-28.
  50. ^ Uhlmann, Natascha Elena (September 4, 2025). "How Spray Tan Technicians and Sugaring Aestheticians Built Their Groundbreaking Salon Chain Union". Labor Notes. Archived from the original on 2025-09-19.
  51. ^ "Sugared & Bronzed". Long Haul Magazine. Archived from the original on 2026-03-05.
  52. ^ Campbell, Tia-Marie (2025-09-11). "How Sugared + Bronzed workers won their historic salon union". Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee. Retrieved 2026-03-05.
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