Centro de Trabajadores Unidos—United Workers’ Center

Centro de Trabajadores Unidos: United Workers’ Center (CTU) unites immigrant, Black, and Latino communities on Chicago’s Southeast Side and south suburbs in the struggle to end racial, economic, and gender injustice. We challenge the roots of inequality — from exploitation in the workplace to disinvestment in our neighborhoods — and build collective power to transform our communities from the ground up.

Centro de Trabajadores Unidos was founded in 2008 by immigrant workers who had endured exploitation at a local factory and decided to fight back and won. Refusing to let those victories be isolated moments, they built a space rooted in solidarity and self-determination—a place where low-wage immigrant workers could arm themselves with knowledge, organize alongside one another, and confront exploitation head-on. Their vision was clear: to grow a movement of workers leading the fight for justice in their workplaces and beyond.