Labor & Immigration Organizer

About Illinois Workers in Action

Illinois Workers in Action (IWA) is a worker- and immigrant-led nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the dignity, rights, and well-being of immigrant, low-wage, and historically excluded workers and families.

Through community organizing, education, advocacy, legal navigation, leadership development, and direct services, IWA works alongside communities to build power, strengthen worker leadership, and address systemic barriers affecting workers and immigrant families.

Position Overview

Illinois Workers in Action is seeking a highly motivated, independent, and community-driven Labor & Immigration Organizer to take ownership of and help lead IWA’s labor program. This is an opportunity for an experienced organizer to not only work directly with workers, but to strengthen and grow IWA’s overall approach to labor organizing, worker case management, workplace advocacy, and worker leadership development.

The Labor & Immigration Organizer will oversee and coordinate IWA’s labor work across our service regions and three offices in Chicago, Aurora, and Bolingbrook. While primarily based in Chicago, this position requires regular travel and a strong presence in the communities and regions IWA serves.

We are looking for someone who can independently manage the day-to-day labor program while also thinking strategically about how the program can improve and grow. The Organizer will be expected to evaluate existing labor procedures, identify gaps, establish best practices, improve case-management and tracking systems, develop new procedures and tools when needed, strengthen labor partnerships, and help build a sustainable infrastructure for IWA’s labor work.

The position will work directly with workers experiencing workplace issues, provide case management, assist with filing complaints with appropriate agencies, conduct workplace and community outreach, facilitate workers’ rights education, develop worker leaders, and identify opportunities for worker-led organizing and collective action.

In addition to leading IWA’s labor work, the Organizer will support IWA’s immigration organizing, Know Your Rights education, outreach, and community initiatives. This position is ideal for someone deeply committed to worker power, grassroots organizing, immigrant justice, and developing community members into leaders who can advocate for themselves and others.

Primary Responsibilities

Labor Program Leadership, Organizing & Worker Support

• Take ownership of the day-to-day coordination, implementation, and continued development of IWA’s labor program across Chicago, Aurora, Bolingbrook, and IWA’s broader service regions.
• Serve as a primary point person within IWA for labor organizing, worker cases, workplace concerns, and labor-related partnerships.
• Assess IWA’s current labor systems, procedures, and practices and proactively recommend and implement improvements.
• Develop and strengthen internal procedures, workflows, case-management practices, documentation standards, referral protocols, follow-up systems, and other tools needed to operate an effective labor program.
• Establish consistent best practices for managing worker cases across the organization.
• Identify opportunities to introduce new systems, strategies, partnerships, and organizing approaches that strengthen IWA’s labor work.
• Work with IWA leadership to establish labor program goals, priorities, strategies, and measurable outcomes.
• Track labor program activities, outcomes, emerging workplace issues, and opportunities for program growth.
• Conduct consistent outreach to workers throughout IWA’s service regions.
• Build trusted relationships with low-wage, immigrant, and historically excluded workers.
• Conduct one-on-one organizing conversations with workers experiencing workplace issues.
• Conduct worker intakes and gather relevant information and documentation related to workplace concerns.
• Provide ongoing case management and follow-up for workers seeking assistance with workplace issues.
• Assist workers with preparing and submitting complaints, claims, and supporting documentation to appropriate local, state, and federal agencies.
• Support workers throughout complaint processes, including gathering documentation, tracking case progress and deadlines, and following up with agencies when appropriate.
• Assist workers experiencing wage theft, unpaid wages, workplace safety concerns, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, misclassification, and other workplace violations.
• Maintain organized and confidential worker case files, case notes, documentation, referrals, and follow-up records.
• Identify cases requiring legal representation or specialized assistance and coordinate referrals to attorneys, legal aid organizations, unions, government agencies, or other appropriate partners.
• Identify patterns across worker cases and determine opportunities for organizing beyond resolving an individual workplace concern.
• Recruit, engage, and develop worker leaders.
• Help workers understand how individual workplace concerns may connect to broader workplace issues and opportunities for collective action.
• Support worker-led campaigns, workplace organizing efforts, collective actions, and advocacy initiatives.
• Facilitate workers’ rights and Know Your Rights presentations and trainings.
• Conduct outreach at workplaces, community events, businesses, neighborhoods, and partner organizations.
• Organize worker meetings, trainings, listening sessions, leadership development activities, and community actions.
• Support IWA’s labor research and worker surveys to identify emerging workplace issues and community needs.
• Develop and maintain relationships with unions, worker centers, legal organizations, government agencies, community organizations, and other labor partners.
• Maintain accurate program data regarding worker cases, outreach, organizing conversations, referrals, complaints filed, presentations, worker leadership development, and program outcomes.
• Represent IWA at labor coalitions, community meetings, events, campaigns, and other external spaces.

Immigration & Community Organizing

• Support IWA’s immigration organizing and community outreach efforts across our service regions.
• Conduct outreach to immigrant and mixed-status families about available resources, programs, and services.
• Support Know Your Rights presentations, family preparedness education, and other immigration-related community education efforts.
• Connect community members with IWA’s immigration legal services and trusted partner organizations when appropriate.
• Conduct community outreach, canvassing, presentations, and tabling.
• Support immigration rapid-response and community education efforts when needed.
• Build relationships with organizations, businesses, community leaders, and other partners serving immigrant communities.
• Recruit community members to participate in IWA programs, trainings, meetings, campaigns, and leadership opportunities.
• Support broader IWA community organizing and advocacy initiatives as needed.

Qualifications

Required

• Minimum 2 years of relevant experience in labor organizing, worker advocacy, workers’ rights, community organizing, case management, immigrant rights, or a related field.
• Demonstrated ability to independently manage projects, programs, cases, or organizing initiatives with limited day-to-day supervision.
• Highly self-motivated, proactive, dependable, and comfortable taking ownership of responsibilities from planning through implementation and follow-up.
• Ability to identify organizational or programmatic gaps and develop practical solutions rather than waiting for direction.
• Strong interest in improving systems, establishing procedures, and developing best practices for labor organizing and worker case management.
• Demonstrated ability to build trusted relationships with workers and community members.
• Strong commitment to workers’ rights, immigrant justice, and grassroots community organizing.
• Ability to manage multiple worker cases while maintaining consistent follow-up, documentation, confidentiality, and deadlines.
• Comfortable conducting outreach and engaging directly with workers and community members.
• Strong communication, facilitation, organizational, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with IWA staff and leadership.
• Ability and willingness to travel between IWA’s Chicago, Aurora, and Bolingbrook offices and throughout surrounding communities.
• Must have a valid driver’s license and reliable personal vehicle for work-related travel.
• Availability for occasional evening and weekend worker meetings, community events, trainings, campaigns, or organizing activities.

Preferred

• Bilingual English/Spanish strongly preferred.
• Previous experience with labor organizing, worker centers, unions, workers’ rights organizations, or workplace campaigns.
• Experience developing or managing a labor, worker advocacy, organizing, or case-management program.
• Experience establishing case-management procedures, workflows, tracking systems, or organizational best practices.
• Experience assisting workers with government agency complaints, claims, and administrative processes.
• Experience working with immigrant, undocumented, low-wage, or mixed-status communities.
• Experience facilitating workers’ rights, community education, or Know Your Rights trainings.
• Familiarity with Illinois workers’ rights and immigrant rights issues.
• Experience developing worker or community leaders.
• Existing relationships with labor, legal, worker advocacy, or community organizations are a plus.

What We're Looking For

IWA is looking for someone who wants to take ownership of a labor program, not simply carry out assigned labor activities. We want this person to become a trusted internal leader for IWA’s labor work—someone who can see what needs to be done, develop a plan, implement it, evaluate what is working, and continuously strengthen the program.

The right candidate will be comfortable inheriting existing systems while also asking, “How can we make this better?” We welcome someone who brings new ideas and is willing to develop better procedures, introduce new tools and systems, establish strong case-management and organizing practices, build partnerships, and help shape the future direction of IWA’s labor work.

At the same time, this is a hands-on organizing position. The Organizer should be equally comfortable developing systems and strategy as they are meeting one-on-one with a worker, conducting an intake, visiting a workplace, helping prepare a complaint, facilitating a training, attending a community event, or organizing workers around a shared workplace concern.

Our goal is not simply to resolve individual cases. IWA seeks to build relationships, develop worker leaders, identify systemic workplace issues, and help workers build collective power.

Work Culture & Leadership Expectations

IWA maintains a flexible, community-centered work culture that values trust, initiative, accountability, creativity, collaboration, and independence. We provide staff with flexibility while expecting team members to take responsibility for their programs, communicate consistently, meet commitments, and be responsive to the workers and communities we serve.

This position will have significant independence and ownership over IWA’s labor work across our service regions and three offices in Chicago, Aurora, and Bolingbrook. The Labor & Immigration Organizer will work closely with organizational leadership while being trusted to independently manage priorities, develop systems, strengthen procedures, build partnerships, and move the labor program forward.

IWA offers a flexible work environment while maintaining expectations around accountability, communication, community presence, and program outcomes. Health Benefit reimbursement.

Required

• Minimum 2 years of relevant experience in labor organizing, worker advocacy, workers’ rights, community organizing, case management, immigrant rights, or a related field.
• Demonstrated ability to independently manage projects, programs, cases, or organizing initiatives with limited day-to-day supervision.
• Highly self-motivated, proactive, dependable, and comfortable taking ownership of responsibilities from planning through implementation and follow-up.
• Ability to identify organizational or programmatic gaps and develop practical solutions rather than waiting for direction.
• Strong interest in improving systems, establishing procedures, and developing best practices for labor organizing and worker case management.
• Demonstrated ability to build trusted relationships with workers and community members.
• Strong commitment to workers’ rights, immigrant justice, and grassroots community organizing.
• Ability to manage multiple worker cases while maintaining consistent follow-up, documentation, confidentiality, and deadlines.
• Comfortable conducting outreach and engaging directly with workers and community members.
• Strong communication, facilitation, organizational, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with IWA staff and leadership.
• Ability and willingness to travel between IWA’s Chicago, Aurora, and Bolingbrook offices and throughout surrounding communities.
• Must have a valid driver’s license and reliable personal vehicle for work-related travel.
• Availability for occasional evening and weekend worker meetings, community events, trainings, campaigns, or organizing activities.

Preferred

• Bilingual English/Spanish strongly preferred.
• Previous experience with labor organizing, worker centers, unions, workers’ rights organizations, or workplace campaigns.
• Experience developing or managing a labor, worker advocacy, organizing, or case-management program.
• Experience establishing case-management procedures, workflows, tracking systems, or organizational best practices.
• Experience assisting workers with government agency complaints, claims, and administrative processes.
• Experience working with immigrant, undocumented, low-wage, or mixed-status communities.
• Experience facilitating workers’ rights, community education, or Know Your Rights trainings.
• Familiarity with Illinois workers’ rights and immigrant rights issues.
• Experience developing worker or community leaders.
• Existing relationships with labor, legal, worker advocacy, or community organizations are a plus.